Just then, Chaldea suddenly came under invasion by monsters. As if driven mad by hatred, the red-eyed beasts attacked Chaldea without regard for the consequences. Behind them, there seemed to be the shadow of Blackened Heroic Spirits and Human Evil—the Beast.
Chaldea once again faced a grave crisis. The Servants who remained there barely held back attacks from every direction.
As Chaldea's temporary commander, Leonardo da Vinci gathered all the Holy Grails and developed a mobile game called FGO, an item capable of sustaining the Servants' existence.
It was amid this great crisis that Mash was sent out of Chaldea by Da Vinci, arriving in this unusual world.
Da Vinci gave three instructions: investigate the source of this anomaly, spread FGO as part of the plan, and find companions capable of standing against these monsters.
"Spread FGO, and find Shirou Emiya!" Those were Da Vinci's final orders to them.
They had observed three worlds related to this incident. With the Spiritron Transfer Device becoming increasingly unstable, they no longer had the leeway to resolve one world, return, and then enter the next. Thus, Mash, Gudako, and Fou, who had regained his senses, were each sent to a different world.
And so, Mash came alone to this world with the mobile game created from the Holy Grails, promoting it while searching for Shirou Emiya.
As perhaps the only being in this world currently capable of fighting those monsters, Mash had no choice but to transform into a Sub-Servant and battle them. At first, she only had to deal with ordinary werewolves and skeletal soldiers.
But later, demon boars, eyeball monsters, and wyverns began to appear as well. Even more terrifying Demonic Beasts might show up eventually. Fighting as a Shielder Class alone was becoming more and more difficult.
For both personal and practical reasons, Mash hoped to persuade Shirou-senpai to join their team as soon as possible.
"The monsters appearing now are getting stronger and stronger. It's already difficult for me to defeat them alone, so I have to ask Shirou-senpai for help!" Mash said.
"Then what should we do?" Shirou asked bluntly.
"Huh? Senpai, you're willing to help?" Mash asked in surprise.
"Of course! We can't let monsters like that ravage this world, can we? And there's no way I'd let you face that danger alone!" Shirou answered as if it were only natural.
Over the months they had spent together, he had come to understand that although the girl before him could be a little scatterbrained at times, she was truly innocent and kind. Whether as her senior or her friend, he wanted her to be happy.
"Senpai..." Hearing Shirou's words, a blush spread across the girl's face as she looked at him, deeply moved.
Her heart felt warm. As expected, he was someone she could trust without reservation.
"Thank you so much, Shirou-senpai!"
If there was any confession purer than "I love you," it was probably, "Even if hell lies ahead, I'll stay by your side."
Please Play FGO with Mash
Mash Kyrielight was actually a member of Chaldea, the Human Order Preservation Institution from another world. On the night she and her Master, Gudako, returned to Chaldea after restoring Human Order, the world underwent another unexplained anomaly.
At the time, Leonardo da Vinci used Siva at Chaldea to observe that the future of the world had been altered, and she discovered three parallel worlds with highly unusual reactions.
There were three key points. They differed from Singularities and Lostbelts alike, as though some special secret was hidden within those parallel worlds. Mash, Gudako-senpai, and Fou were sent to separate worlds.
"Although you've only just restored Human Order, and you should have been allowed to rest for a while, trouble has come knocking again. Gudako! Mash! Can I count on you?" Da Vinci asked, operating the system and looking up at the two girls.
"Got it! Da Vinci, leave it to us!" replied the lively girl with orange-red hair tied into a side ponytail and dark golden eyes, patting her chest.
"Yes, Da Vinci. Gudako-senpai and I are ready!" Mash said with a smile.
"Fou~!" Fou cried as he climbed onto Mash's shoulder.
Within the ring-shaped celestial device, the pseudo-Earth environment model Chaldeas—a "sphere of light" crackling with arcs of electricity—slowly rotated. Da Vinci operated the Spiritron Calculation Device. In the blue-lit room, Mash and Gudako stood together atop the transfer circle, fingers interlocked as they gazed at each other.
"Mash, if either of us finds Emiya-senpai first and resolves the problem in her world, we'll find a way to look for the other, okay? Promise!" Gudako said to the pink-haired girl with her usual smile.
"I understand! It's a promise, Senpai!" Mash agreed with a smile.
"Fou~!"
"But Da Vinci, will you and everyone else be all right staying here? What will you do afterward?" Gudako asked.
"Are you worried about me? I'm an all-powerful genius. Even if I get killed once or twice, I can still come back to life. I'll protect this place, so go do what you need to do without worrying!" Da Vinci said confidently, wearing the Mona Lisa's smile.
"Got it!!" Gudako and Mash replied.
"Since the Spiritron Transfer Device is already extremely unstable, we no longer have the leeway to return here and transfer to the next world. So you must split up. Find Shirou Emiya. There's a reaction showing he once visited that world. As the earliest Servant to disappear, there must be some clue on him!" Da Vinci said, pressing the transfer button.
The Spiritron Transfer activated. Blinding light flashed, and the two girls and one beast were swept into a rotating vortex of deep blue.
Thus, Mash came alone to this world and contacted Da Vinci. Leonardo truly lived up to her reputation as one of the Renaissance's greatest figures, an all-powerful genius. Through deduction alone, she came up with the most suitable method of promotion for this world.
More than ten Holy Grails served as bridges between this world and Chaldea, connecting to Chaldea's Servants through the mobile game. As they gained this world's humans' recognition, the Servants would gradually recover their energy.
Mash began learning about this world, promoting the FGO mobile game, and searching for Shirou Emiya. But this world had changed too greatly. Its peace and perfection surpassed any civilization she had ever seen.
At first, Mash had no idea how to proceed. Like a headless fly, she ran about gathering information and encountered plenty of awkward situations.
Fortunately, she could use the magical energy provided by the Holy Grails within the mobile game to transform into a Sub-Servant and fight back. Otherwise, there were several times when strange creepy uncles tried to take her to luxury hotels or on hot spring trips, all of which she firmly refused. Naturally, if they refused to listen, she knocked them unconscious with the flat of her greatshield and handed them over to the police.
After a year, Mash finally began to mature under Da Vinci's guidance.
Under Da Vinci's direction, Mash founded a company and hired professional managers. She worked to make the FGO mobile game popular around the world, promoting FGO diligently every day. In the course of this great undertaking, which brought joy and tears to countless moonfolk, she also made a tidy profit.
As TYPE-MOON Company's largest shareholder hidden behind the scenes, Mash would eventually rise within the Huameng business circles of Asia and Africa. The newly booming game company drew widespread attention, yet no one knew who held the greatest stake. Only insiders knew her true identity: the mysterious Genius CEO Girl behind every success was Mash herself.
TYPE-MOON Company developed well, but Mash still failed to find Shirou Emiya. She hired people from many different fields and searched several nearby countries. She had even looked into everyone with the surname Wei, yet still could not find that senior.
Until one day, at the national middle school sports tournament, she saw a black-haired boy who stood head and shoulders above the rest, displaying the bearing of an archery master. His appearance seemed familiar, and his presence was so distinct.
The moment he entered the kyudo field and drew his bow, his back was as straight as a standard, and the hand holding the bow formed a level line with the arrow. His expression remained tranquil and unmoved. Though he had not yet released the arrow, it already felt as though hitting the bullseye was inevitable.
His score was far ahead at that point. As long as his next arrow struck the bullseye, he would claim the championship early. The other competitors all looked tense, cold sweat beading on their faces.
Whoosh!
The spectators fell silent. Mash stared in amazement, because the boy's archery form was like a work of art, carrying a beauty that seemed in harmony with nature. Yet that way of shooting also gave her a familiar feeling.
A moment later, thunderous cheers erupted.
Although this boy differed in height and temperament, the aura he displayed in the instant he fired was exactly like Archer Emiya-senpai, the Archer Servant who had once fought alongside her.
Mash understood at once. He was the person she had been searching for.
After investigating, Mash learned his identity. In this world, his surname was Hikigaya. No wonder she had never been able to find him.
So she had the company contact the school and use its connections. Mash transferred into Huameng International High School, joined the Kyudo Club, and became Hikigaya Shirou's junior.
That was how everything that followed came about. Though Hikigaya Shirou and Emiya were different beings, Mash felt even more warmth from this new senior, warmth that deeply moved her. The loneliness and emptiness of being separated from Gudako-senpai for a year seemed to be filled at that moment.
"Mash! If it was something this important, you should have told me from the beginning. Acting alone was too reckless," Shirou said, looking at his pink-haired junior with some reproach.
Even if she had the ability to fight monsters, a girl should not take risks alone.
"Shirou-senpai, if you hadn't accepted this mobile game from the bottom of your heart, you wouldn't have been able to see those monsters in the video. Accepting FGO is like accepting a contract with Chaldea—a kind of ritual.
"Before accepting that contract, humans protected by this world will have all 'Mystery' shut out.
"This world's collective consciousness protects humanity very strongly. It practically does not allow Mystery to interfere in human affairs. 'Magecraft,' 'Servants,' and 'invading monsters' are all rejected into an alternate space outside the world.
"Even if I had told you the truth before, when your brain received that information, it would have been twisted into something else. Just as monster invasions become natural disasters. So there was no way you could have believed me," Mash explained.
"I see. I'm sorry I couldn't help you sooner," Shirou said in understanding, though guilt still rose in his heart. He knew very well what it felt like to fight danger alone.
"No. Rather, it was my fault for dragging you into this," Mash said, slowly shaking her head.
"I understand. Then let's call it even. From now on, if you need help with anything, you have to tell me. Got it?" Shirou reminded the girl again.
"I understand!" The girl was deeply moved. She had approached him with an ulterior motive, yet he had accepted her so readily.
"Good." The boy had chosen to trust his junior. Understanding the kindness in her nature, he decided he would not let her feel lonely again.
Having reached an understanding, the two smiled at each other.
Playing FGO Is Justice
"Anyway, let's deal with this problem first," Shirou said to the pink-haired girl.
"Okay, please look at this." Mash obediently nodded and took out her phone. A map unfolded on its screen.
It showed a full map of the Tokyo Metropolitan Area, marked with several red circles of varying sizes. One of them was moving, while several others had black crosses over them.
"You know where these marked locations are, right?" Mash asked.
Shirou looked at the place names, nodded, and answered, "Mm, these are all places where accidents have happened..." Since he had been concerned about those incidents, he remembered them clearly.
"Shirou-senpai is right. These are all disaster sites. These markers were made based on the monsters' magical energy reactions detected by Chaldea's observation equipment. The larger the red dot, the higher the danger level.
"The places marked with crosses are alternate spaces I've already dealt with. This newly appeared large red dot is moving. Three days ago it was in Tokyo's Minato Ward, two days ago in Chuo Ward, and yesterday in Shinjuku. If I'm not mistaken, that monster will appear here in Chiba today! And judging from its magical energy reaction, it's likely a big one." As Mash spoke, she drew a line across the map with her phone.
The marked red dots on the map were connected by that straight line. The large red dot's route formed a diagonal, making it immediately clear.
"Isn't that near the school? Wouldn't that be dangerous?" Shirou asked in surprise.
"These Phantasmal Beast monsters may have some purpose for appearing here. The monster represented by that large red dot seems quite intelligent. It is probably coming for me, but there are still many things I don't understand," Mash said.
"Can you predict exactly where it will appear? We have to stop it as soon as possible. This is near the school! What if the students here get attacked?" Shirou said with a frown. No matter what, he had to stop that from happening.
"Please don't worry, Senpai. Everyone is safe. These monsters from other worlds will be blocked within the alternate space behind this world's protective barrier. This world has a powerful defense mechanism against outside intrusions."
"Besides, the world will guide living creatures away from dangerous places in all sorts of ways. Nearby creatures will subconsciously sense danger, or suddenly feel their hearts race, their bodies go cold, or their stomachs hurt, and then they will leave." Mash reassured Shirou.
"I see." Shirou nodded, then thought of today's abnormalities and asked, "By your explanation, the school letting students go home early, and nobody else from the Kyudo Club coming to morning practice today... does that mean the school is probably where the monster will appear?"
"That's very possible! Senpai, are you good at deduction?" Mash asked, her eyes shining with the joy of finding someone like herself.
"If we fight in the alternate space, no one will be in danger?" Shirou asked.
Mash shook her head and continued explaining, "No, that kind of destruction is still dangerous. Once a monster's damage to the barrier within the alternate space exceeds a certain level, it will indirectly affect this world. The accidents reported in the news before happened because of that."
"If an accident occurs within that space and a human dies because of it, then they really die. A lost life will not return, and it cannot be treated as though it never happened. It will merely be made to seem logical.
"The world will twist the cause of death into something else, such as a car accident or a heart attack. But once someone dies, nothing can be undone." Mash seemed to recall something as she spoke, and sadness entered her voice.
Seeing Mash's expression, Shirou somewhat understood that the girl may have experienced sorrowful things, just like him. He had previously sensed that she was somewhat different from ordinary girls at school. Beneath her gentle appearance was an incredibly strong heart. Yet it was precisely that strength—strength no one could possess without weathering hardship—that made her so heartbreaking.
I see. So that was it.
"I understand! I absolutely won't let that happen!" Shirou clenched his fist and made a vow in his heart. He decided that he would stay by the girl's side and fight to the end. He would protect the happiness of everyone at the school.
"Please don't worry, Senpai! It'll be fine. Even if someone accidentally gets drawn into the alternate space and encounters a monster, as long as they play FGO, Chaldea will definitely have a way to protect them! Servants protect the Masters they acknowledge," Mash said with a smile to her suddenly fired-up senior.
"Although this world suppresses all mysterious powers, the FGO system specially created by Da Vinci is an exception! It was made using more than ten Holy Grails and comes from multiple other worlds!
"Player Masters develop faith and feelings toward their favorite Servants, providing the energy they need to exist in this world. In turn, Servants answer the summons of Masters they recognize, or Masters who resemble them and get along with them."
"So playing FGO is justice! All Masters are Allies of Justice! Shirou-senpai! Let's save the world together!" Mash cried excitedly.
"Haa... is that so?" Shirou looked at the FGO game icon on his phone. Could this be some kind of cult pyramid scheme?
At that moment, the warning bell rang.
"The monster is expected to appear next when the school is empty, so please meet up with me after school! Don't worry. The barrier in this world is very sturdy. Ordinary monsters couldn't break through even if they smashed at it for two or three years." With that, Mash ran off to class with a relaxed expression.
For a while, Shirou truly did not know what to say. He could only watch the girl's retreating figure vanish into the distance.
What kind of experiences did this junior go through to become so thick-skinned that she could act like she was playing a game at such a serious moment, without the slightest tension? And... give back the feelings I had earlier!
After school that afternoon, the teachers and students indeed left the campus one after another of their own accord. Shirou and Mash met at the entrance to the Kyudo Club.
"To deal with those monsters, all you need is the FGO mobile game! Playing FGO is justice, and playing FGO means saving the world! Because Shirou-senpai had the qualities from the start! Shirou-senpai is also a first-rate powerhouse in my world, and his cooking ranks among the best in Chaldea.
"Although there are currently some problems with the connection between Chaldea's Servant Summoning System and the Hall of Heroes, and the Emiya at Chaldea has disappeared without appearing again, if it's you, Senpai, you can definitely summon him again from the Hall of Heroes. He'll be the Servant with the highest compatibility with you, and he'll definitely wield tremendous power."
"Senpai, transform into a Servant! They call him the Nuclear Sword Immortal! Once Unlimited Blade Works opens, he has weapons for every attribute—he kills gods in his way and Buddhas in his path!" Mash shouted excitedly. "Archer Emiya is so cool! You have to max him out! And once the five-star Saber Muramasa Shirou comes out, with the demon blade in hand, who could stand against him? You have to whale hard!"
"Wait! Wait! Mash, I don't have the ability to transform into a Servant! And who is this Muramasa? I've never even heard of him!" Shirou stopped Mash, who was enthusiastically hawking Servants.
"Huh? How could that be? Senpai, you didn't summon Emiya? Shouldn't you have automatically completed a possession summon and become a Pseudo-Servant?" Mash asked in confusion.
"I'm standing here alive and well. How could I become a Servant? Besides, this is what I pulled!" Shirou said irritably, taking out his phone and opening Merlin for her to see.
"How is that possible!" Mash cried in disbelief as she looked at the screen. "Senpai, you actually pulled a gold card! Five stars! It has five stars! And it's Merlin!"
"Hey! Is this really the time to be surprised about that?" Shirou retorted.
"Did something go wrong after all? I have to contact Da Vinci!" Mash said with a puzzled expression. She had farmed her account for so long that her three-star God of War team had already taken shape. Her Saint Quartz was gone, and she had never even seen a four-star card in the pool. She had figured the account was bad and gave it away.
How had Senpai managed such a lucky pull after just one day?
"This is so strange! What's going on?" Mash looked utterly unable to accept reality.
"No! You're the strange one!" Shirou had memories of a previous life, so Servants were nothing unfamiliar to him. He had also heard of Chaldea and possessed some knowledge of Phantasmal Beasts. But he and the scatterbrained girl were completely on different wavelengths.
Wasn't this supposed to be a tense moment, with a monster crisis looming?
Why did it feel like this girl did not take this level of battle seriously at all?
Just then, the ground trembled, and the sky suddenly darkened. Deafening thunder rang out overhead, sounding exactly like the roar of some enormous beast.
Before you continue