Danmachi: The Multiverse Portal

New week guys, let's push!!

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August hadn't expected one moment of pretending to be Ritsuka Fujimaru to cause such a commotion on the Throne of Heroes.

'Damn it. I messed around once and ended up causing a huge mess.'

He didn't say that out loud.

Richard studied him for another moment, then lowered his sword.

"Whatever your true identity may be, I already have a Master." He turned toward the blonde girl sitting near the summoning circle. "My loyalty belongs to her."

Ayaka opened her mouth to object. She hadn't agreed to any of this. One moment she had been tied up as a sacrifice, and the next, a Heroic Spirit was introducing her as his Master in front of two Goddesses, an army, and several other dangerous strangers.

Then she looked around the ruined opera house and quietly swallowed her protest.

"Fair enough." August glanced at her. "She'd make a pretty good Master."

Ayaka relaxed slightly.

"Gloomy, insecure, and terrible at expressing herself—but still decent underneath. She's almost exactly like the real Ayaka Sajyou."

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING INSECURE?" Her relief disappeared.

"I'm not wrong." August looked her over with the confidence of someone reading from an official character profile. "Ayaka Sajyou seems like a quiet, well-mannered beauty in public, but behind closed doors, she's all claws. Shy in public, but fierce at home."

"I AM NOT!" Ayaka shot to her feet, her face burning.

August had started analyzing another Master's personality in the middle of a Holy Grail War—while familiars belonging to half of Snowfield's magi watched from every corner.

That took nerve.

Somewhere beyond the opera house, the magi receiving those images were probably wondering whether he had come to fight or to publicly expose everyone's private history.

Ayaka pointed at him, shaking with anger.

"You don't know anything about me!"

"Maybe not you personally," August said. "But the character you got? I know that one pretty well."

He stepped back and looked Richard over again. "Still, your summoning is interesting."

"What do you mean?" Richard's attention returned to him.

"Usually, summoning a Saber needs a catalyst connected to a swordsman or a king. But Ayaka didn't use a real relic, and she still managed to summon you." August rubbed his chin.

"That probably means she can't call King Arthur directly—but she can summon Heroic Spirits strongly connected to Arthurian legend."

Richard froze. His eyes lit up.

"Wait." He took one step closer. "Are you saying I count as a Heroic Spirit connected to King Arthur?"

"More or less."

Richard's entire face brightened. He had spent his mortal life admiring the Once and Future King, and his devotion had survived death, reached the Throne, and become part of his legend. Now the Master of Chaldea himself had acknowledged that connection.

To Richard, this was no casual observation...

It was certification!!

"So I truly belong among those connected to the King of Knights—" Richard looked like he wanted to frame August's words and hang them up in a royal palace.

Ayaka stared at her Servant.

"That's what excites you?"

"OF COURSE!" Richard turned toward her, almost offended by the question. "This is King Arthur we're talking about!"

"He's a total fanboy." August nodded seriously.

"I prefer devoted admirer."

"Fanboy!"

Richard decided to ignore the insult. After all, August had just given him the highest praise he could imagine.

"But if you were actually the real Ayaka Sajyou..."

August started, then paused. "No. More precisely, if you had summoned that other King Arthur, you might have attracted a major problem."

Ayaka's irritation faded.

"What kind of problem?"

"A lovesick woman," August answered without hesitation.

"..." The entire opera house went silent.

"Technically, she's old enough that I should call her Auntie. She's the kind of woman who's always searching for her prince on a white horse."

August thought of Manaka Sajyou, the Princess of the Root.

"Arthur Pendragon happens to be exactly her type. Though perhaps it isn't specifically Arthur. She would probably like any knight built like that gorilla Gawain."

"..." Ayaka stared at him in disbelief.

A lovesick monster obsessed with Arthur. A woman so dangerous that August saw her as a major threat. And he had just called her an auntie and compared her dream man to a gorilla.

"Are you not worried she'll hear you?"

"Why should I be?"

"..." Ayaka was speechless at how little August seemed to care about his own safety.

Richard, however, focused on one name.

"You know Sir Gawain?"

Of course he did. The Chaldea connection was getting more convincing by the second. August knew about King Arthur, the Knights of the Round Table, the Hassans, and secrets related to the Sajyou family.

Who else could he be but Humanity's Last Master?

Every familiar watching the opera house took that conversation back to its master. Somewhere in Snowfield, magi who thought they'd just see a summoning ritual were now getting gossip about King Arthur, Chaldea, and a mysterious woman scary enough to frighten August.

That turned out to be worth much more than anyone had expected.

The conversation stopped when August heard a new sound.

Boots.

A lot of them...

Then the loud sound of helicopter blades echoed above the opera house.

These helicopters didn't belong to him.

"August," Commander James said through the radio in his ear. "Snowfield Police are closing in. Two helicopters overhead, tactical units approaching from every entrance."

"Understood."

August looked at the broken doors. The people they had been waiting for were finally here.

"Saber!" He turned back to Richard.

Richard recognized that tone right away.

"Give this city a proper opening act—" August gestured toward the opera house around them. "If the real Holy Grail War is beginning tonight, it deserves a memorable introduction."

A wide grin appeared on Richard's face.

"As expected of the Master of Chaldea."

He loved this man's style.

Richard lowered the small, toy-like blade he had been using and reached for the ceremonial sword hanging at his waist. It was an ornate weapon made to imitate the Sword of Kings—not a true Holy Sword, but a fine enough vessel for his legend.

He drew it.

Golden light formed along the blade. The air shook. Mana flowed from Richard, covering the sword until its shape vanished in a bright glow.

Thanks to his Noble Phantasm, even a normal object could hold the name and power of the Holy Sword he honored. The stronger the weapon, the more of that legend it could handle.

Richard lifted the glowing blade.

"Then allow me to raise the curtain!"

"EX—CALIBURRRRR!" The light grew brighter.

August turned and ran.

"MOVE!"

Rethusa and the Artemis Familia didn't hesitate. They rushed to the nearest exit as golden light filled the opera house.

"What the hell??" Rethusa shouted while sprinting. "I thought Saber was a swordsman!"

"He is!" Lante yelled beside her.

"THEN WHY IS HIS SWORD FIRING A CANNON BEAM??"

Nobody replied. What kind of swordsman could swing once and release enough energy to destroy a whole building?

The Zealot, who had been watching Richard from the rafters, realized where the blade was pointing.

Straight at her.

"You bastard!"

The golden beam shot across the opera house. The Zealot disappeared just before it hit, jumping through a side window and escaping into the night.

"I swear I'll remember this, Saber!" Her furious voice faded into the distance.

"THE NEXT TIME I SEE YOU, I'M CUTTING THAT SMUG FACE OFF!"

The beam kept going upward.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

The opera house roof exploded. Steel supports twisted apart. Concrete and glass burst into the sky, leaving the entire stage exposed beneath the moonlight.

August, Hestia, Artemis, and the soldiers had already cleared the building. Rethusa and the others stumbled out behind them, coughing through the dust and staring back at the destruction.

Rethusa looked at the enormous hole where the roof had been.

"That was one swing?"

August nodded.

"Servants are ridiculous."

Inside the ruined opera house, Richard admired his work. Moonlight spilled through the shattered ceiling, illuminating the stage and the girl standing near the summoning circle.

Perfect.

He had made his entrance, displayed his Holy Sword, and driven away Assassin. All that remained was the most important part of any proper summoning.

Richard turned to face Ayaka. He bent down a little, holding his sword at his side while his cloak moved in the breeze.

"I ask of you—"

Ayaka stared at him.

"Are you my Master?"

Moonlight shone on Richard's silver armor. Dust sparkled in the air, and the ruined opera house looked more like the last scene of a grand play than a battlefield.

Ayaka wanted to refuse. She never wanted to be part of this war. She never wanted a Servant, and she definitely didn't want to be in charge of a dramatic English king who blasted Excalibur through the ceiling.

But then she remembered August.

Gloomy.

Insecure.

Shy in public, fierce at home.

Her eyebrow twitched.

If she accepted Richard, she could use Saber's strength to beat August senseless and clear her name. That alone made the contract tempting.

Ayaka opened her mouth.

Before she could answer—

WHUP-WHUP-WHUP-WHUP!

Two police helicopters descended over the shattered roof.

Blinding searchlights flooded the stage, ruining Richard's moonlit introduction.

"THIS IS THE SNOWFIELD POLICE DEPARTMENT!"

Armed officers stormed through every entrance, rifles raised. More tactical units rappelled down from the helicopters and surrounded Richard and Ayaka from above.

"DROP THE WEAPON!"

"PUT YOUR HANDS WHERE WE CAN SEE THEM!"

Richard looked up at the police.

His perfect moment was ruined!

Ayaka slowly raised both hands. Richard sighed and placed his sword on the floor.

The officers tightened their formation.

"ON YOUR KNEES!"

The newly summoned Saber and his Master obeyed without resistance.

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BULK UPLOAD OF 5 CHAPTERS IF WE HIT 900 POWERSTONES THIS WEEK!!

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