I, Fujimaru Ritsuka, am back with a max-level character!

The air is filled with the smell of blood.

Click, click, click.

The location the group was teleported to did not appear to be the capital of Rome.

A light drizzle began to fall from the sky, sprinkling onto the ground, melting the congealed blood, and washing away the gray earth.

"hiss--!"

This smell!

The man with wolf-like eyes took a deep, ecstatic sniff, greedily inhaling the scent of blood in the air.

"It feels pretty good. Here, my whole body and mind are coming alive. Is this what real killing is like?"

"If some people, despite their respectable appearance, lack the courage to face the brutality of war, they should just go home and nurse!"

Beryl's words were loaded with meaning, seemingly mocking a young Master dressed in black formal attire.

"Don't go too far, Beryl. Fujimaru may be just an ordinary person, but he still has some abilities... Can't you act like a senior? This kind of nagging is annoying."

Ophelia stood in front of Fujimaru Ritsuka and Mash, staring intently at Beryl, her meaning quite clear.

You dare touch them?

"Tch~ I just wanted to chat with my friendly juniors, don't say things that hurt my feelings!"

"Is that right, Fujimaru and Mashu?"

"As a senior colleague, I should be very approachable, right? You can chat with me more."

Beryl grinned.

The lenses gleamed with a chilling, cold light.

That annoying guy is someone you can't trust at all.

...

It's blood, the taste of blood.

Amputated limbs, severed arms.

Crushed to pieces by iron tools, like flesh and blood thrown into a meat grinder, it lay on the ground, attracting foul-smelling maggots and flies.

Fujimaru Ritsuka's eyes widened. This vast, boundless plain was not covered with blue skies, white clouds, green grass, and trees.

Rather, it bears the marks of an unprecedented, meat-grinding battle.

"This Rome doesn't feel quite like what I expected. What's going on? Is there some kind of malfunction in the spirit transfer?"

Peperoncino asked with a kind smile.

"The location seems correct, so does that mean Rome is gone?! Rome is gone!"

Kirshtalia shook his head, his mouth agape in exaggerated surprise. Determining latitude and longitude coordinates by the elevation angles of planets and stars was not a difficult task even for a top student in astrophysics.

"The reason for this singularity is that Rome was buried by a volcanic eruption beforehand, right?! What a pity, I thought I could see the Colosseum from here..."

......

Debit pursed his lips slightly: "That's Pompeii. I remember that event was quite famous. And the Colosseum you mentioned, that spectacle, should still be standing."

"Is that really how it is?! That's a little disappointing..."

If he weren't standing gracefully at the front of the line, this tone might have made people think he was pounding his chest in frustration.

"Putting that aside for now, this place looks like a battlefield... This kind of bloody battle is probably only seen in a decisive battle between armies of more than 10,000 people."

Ophelia interrupted the captain, who was starting to talk nonsense, and said seriously, "In this era, I don't recall any wars happening near Rome. I'm afraid the situation we face will be very serious."

"Let's stick together this time. That way we can look out for each other if anything happens."

Hinako Akuta reads: "Anyway, I don't care. Just tell me whatever instructions you have."

Senior Sister Yu Ji chose to give up, since she was just an idiot Master anyway.

Kirshtalia nodded: "That makes sense, but the only one here who is good at wilderness skills is Kadoc. Fujimaru Ritsuka, if it were you, what do you think we should do?"

"Ask me?"

Guda was taken aback.

I'd like to hear your opinion.

It's quite unusual for an excellent magician to want to hear the opinions of a layman, but if he's the captain, it should make sense, right?

"The body is still warm and has already begun to decompose... It's raining, which is extremely unusual for Rome. I paid attention in high school; this is a Mediterranean climate... If it's raining, it can only be condensation caused by the rapid increase in ground temperature."

Fujimaru Ritsuka kept observing the terrain and the situation on the battlefield, making her guesses.

"The army fought a fierce battle, and there are even signs of evaporation. They probably had combat power of Servant level or above, and powerful Servants with Noble Phantasms of Anti-Army or above. It is possible that they possessed the Holy Grail."

The charred, pierced marks reminded Fujimaru Ritsuka of someone.

That was the Hunnic King summoned by Lev at the end of the second singularity in the previous playthrough.

"My suggestion is to search the entire battlefield first. See if there are any soldiers left alive or alive to ask for information. If not, go and find a village in the nearby wilderness to establish a base."

"Hmm, a very safe plan. Is intelligence gathering the top priority in this operational strategy?"

"Okay, let's do it this way for now."

The captain adopted Fujimaru Ritsuka's suggestion.

After all, encountering such a tragic scene right from the start makes conquering it much more difficult than conquering France.

It's never wrong to be careful.

but...

It's probably not that simple.

Chapter Eight: When Gods Fight, Mortals Suffer

Central Control Room

The red Chaldea is so hot it's irritating.

As long as human nature cannot be saved, Olga Marie will never find peace.

Rafe's betrayal nearly broke Olga Marie's fragile nerves, but fortunately, the arrival of Fujimaru Ritsuka alleviated Olga Marie's crisis of trust and prestige.

At least there are still people who believe in her and want to protect her, so she can't so shamefully abandon her responsibilities.

"Honestly, I was hoping to take a break during this time, but it seems that even if I slack off for the entire singularity, I'll eventually be back to working overtime."

Romani Archman sighed repeatedly. This weak man had been kept awake for a long time by Gudako.

You'll die!

I'll die!

Originally, only he knew what his only remaining Noble Phantasm was. Could there really be a chance to use it?

As a human, not a Heroic Spirit, the doctor didn't know whether to feel fear or panic.

Or perhaps it's simply a matter of reluctance to part with it.

That's obvious, who wants to die?!

"If you're not happy, you can go back. You look so distracted. You'll only cause trouble here... Honestly, since we asked you to replace Rafe's job, why don't you do it properly, or you won't get any QP this month."

Olga Marie said coldly.

"How could this be?! Does that mean I'll never be able to pay back the money I borrowed from Magic?Merry?!"

"Huh...?! This guy, taking out a loan to tip people, is he out of his mind?"

"It's not abnormal, Mary needs to eat too... I've decided to support her with all my salary!"

Olga Marie remained silent.

This guy must have lost his mind.

"Chief, the communication is working again. I also expanded the search area. As long as it's in an area with sufficient ether concentration, we can continue to observe it. Thank me."

Da Vinci smiled as he left the control panel, stood aside, flicked his hair, and said with a smile.

"You truly live up to your title as a technical advisor. Although I don't really want to say it, you're no ordinary oddball either."

Director Olga Marie nodded.

"Of course, after all, I am an omnipotent person."

Da Vinci casually pulled out a Chaldea-specific cash register from his crotch: "500 million QP in total, please settle the bill."

Olga Marie's eyes widened in surprise: "There... there's a charge?!"

"You have to charge for debugging equipment, that's common knowledge to me."

Da Vinci opened her big eyes innocently, looked at Olga Marie, and said with a shameless grin, "Director, you're not trying to renege on your promise, are you?"

Olga Marie remained silent.

Does anyone want to be the director?

Can I step down now?

Can this kind of guy really save humanity?!

Studying medicine won't save humanity, and neither will going into business!

"Director, a magical reaction! And a large amount of life force!"

"Not far from where the spirit particle was just transferred, there seem to be tens of thousands of life forms reacting, and the number is still increasing!"

"Based on a rough assessment, they should be two large-scale combat legions!"

"Moreover, the leaders of both armies possess Servant-level Spirit Origin reactions... no, according to the latest observations, they possess energy reactions that are above average!?"

"This is beyond the realm of what a Servant can achieve, isn't it?! We must inform them immediately..."