Danmachi: The Multiverse Portal

Thank you all so much for your support!!!

—•——•——•——•——•——•—

Olga Marie had chosen to disguise herself as Caster. Now that all three Servant factions were finally together, she decided it was time to make everyone's positions clear.

"You six were summoned first," she said, turning to Flat, the Zealot, and the others connected to Snowfield's original ritual. "From what I've figured out about this Holy Grail War, your role was to set up the system for the real ritual that followed."

She smiled. "So, you're the False Servants. The first six are on the False side. Then, at midnight last night, the seventh Servant appeared—Saber. That marked the start of the True Holy Grail War."

Olga Marie pointed to Hippolyta, then in the direction where Alcides had gone. "Hippolyta and Alcides are part of the True Servant faction."

Flat Escardos listened with open fascination.

There were two Holy Grail Wars happening at once. The False Servants were summoned first to set things up, and then the True Servants arrived to finish the real ritual.

Then Olga Marie pointed to herself.

"As for us, we're not part of either side." She looked at Hestia. "That Goddess recreated the Command Spell system and used Snowfield's summoning base to make her own connection. Instead of bringing Servant copies through the Grail, August's Command Spells connect straight to the Throne of Heroes."

Olga Marie bowed gracefully.

"I was the first one summoned."

"Servant, Caster. Olga Marie Animusphere."

Jeanne Alter moved forward.

"Servant, Berserker. Jeanne d'Arc Alter."

Marie Alter followed with considerably more composure.

"Servant, Assassin. Marie Antoinette."

Larva/Tiamat raised her hand.

"Servant, Archer. Tiamat!"

All four looked very pleased with themselves. They knew this moment would come. If they were going to act as a third faction in the Holy Grail War, they needed proper introductions.

Before anyone could respond, a tiny electronic horn sounded from somewhere down the road.

Beep! Beep!

"..." Everyone turned.

A girl with long bangs and twin tails rode toward the battlefield on what looked like an electric scooter. She sped down the road, leaning into the turns, as if making the grandest entrance possible.

"WOOOOHOOOOOOO!"

Gilgamesh stared. Enkidu stared. Hippolyta and Flat also widened their eyes when they saw her face.

"Hello, everyone!" She pulled up near August's group and waved.

Then she spread her arms.

"Servant, Rider. Ishtar, reporting for duty!"

Space Ishtar grinned widely. "Oh, and our Lancer is busy with work right now, so she couldn't come. She asked me to say hello for her."

It seemed Space Ereshkigal thought her job was more important than a dramatic battlefield introduction.

"You… What are you doing here?" Gilgamesh's expression darkened.

Enkidu looked just as suspicious. No matter what disguise Ishtar wore, neither of them could miss who she really was. To them, she still had the unmistakable presence of that troublesome Goddess from Uruk.

Ishtar.

How did that 'Disaster' end up here?

"Thanks to you, actually... you left that key lying around." Space Ishtar pointed straight at Gilgamesh.

She pulled a catalyst linked to the Gate of Babylon from her pocket and swung it on one finger. "The ritual that summoned you was still connected to the Throne. Then Enkidu arrived, giving us a second anchor to the same Age of Gods."

She began telling the cover story the group had planned.

"You already had demigods active in this World, and an imprint related to me had appeared here as well. With that much connection already established, why wouldn't the real me come down personally? We borrowed Caster's reverse summoning formula, combined it with all the magical energy pouring through Snowfield's Holy Grail War, and opened a route down from the Throne."

She knew parts of the story didn't make sense, but she told it with complete confidence anyway.

She jingled the key again. "This made everything much easier. Some king tossed away a perfectly good catalyst like it was trash. We found it, so of course we used it."

Gilgamesh's eye twitched.

Now, the strange disturbances in the Leylines made a lot more sense.

Flat, on the other hand, looked thrilled. "I see!"

He stared between Olga Marie and the key. "If you reversed an existing summoning ritual, then used a Servant to call another Servant, and powered the connection with a catalyst tied to something as vast as the Gate of Babylon…"

His smile widened.

"That could actually work!!"

He immediately understood how Olga Marie managed to bring so many people through. As the heir to the Department of Astromancy, her knowledge of summoning and celestial systems was more than enough to change a ritual once she had a base to work with.

"But wait." Flat counted the classes again. "Caster, Berserker, Assassin, Archer, Rider, and Lancer…" He tilted his head. "Shouldn't there be a Saber with you as well?"

The six women had almost recreated the full standard lineup.

Only Saber was missing...

"Not allowed." Jeanne Alter folded her arms, her face expressionless. "The Black King's real class is Saber. If anyone was going to fill that spot for us, it could only be her. The problem is, the Saber who should have come next is as strong as a Grand. She would have been the best one to keep the rest of us in check."

"But Human Order refused to release her. So Saber stayed behind."

Flat blinked.

"…What?"

Human Order had refused to let a Heroic Spirit leave. That was a huge thing to mention so casually, and the idea almost sounded ridiculous. It was as if Human Order saw what happened to Olga Marie and the others, realized Heroic Spirits were escaping the Throne, and decided the safest thing was to keep the next one trapped.

Flat scratched his cheek. Were they worried someone was stealing their Heroic Spirits?

By now, he couldn't say that idea was wrong.

Marie Alter had already stopped caring about the missing Saber. Now, she focused on the only normal human among the newcomers.

"You."

Flat pointed at himself. "Me?"

"You're Berserker's Master, aren't you?" she asked, looking him over. "What are you doing out here by yourself?"

A Master walking into a battlefield full of Heroic Spirits had to be either very confident or a little crazy. Flat somehow looked like he could be both.

"Well…" He scratched the back of his head. "I'm actually here on behalf of my teacher."

That answer got Hippolyta's attention. At almost the same time, she got a message from her own Master. Her expression changed, and she lowered her weapon before turning to Flat.

"My Master told me the same thing." She looked at the young magus. "You said you came here to negotiate for your teacher. What does that mean?"

"Oh, that... I'll let him explain it himself." Flat pulled out his phone.

Almost right then, the call connected. Flat used Magecraft on the speaker so everyone nearby could hear the voice on the other end. Before he could introduce the man, August spoke first.

"Lord El-Melloi II of the Clock Tower?" He paused.

"Or should I call you Waver Velvet, Rider's Master from the Fourth Holy Grail War?"

"..." Flat's eyes widened. The voice on the phone went silent for a moment.

August hadn't expected one of the Clock Tower's Lords, sitting all the way in Britain, to contact him personally.

That was interesting.

"Good day, Mr. August." Lord El-Melloi II's voice sounded mature and tired, with more weariness than someone in his thirties should have. "I have to admit, I didn't expect you to know so much about me."

Waver felt a bit relieved. It was better to be recognized than to talk to someone who knew nothing about him. He wasn't known for cruelty or violence; if anything, the Clock Tower saw him as a weak magus who was just a very good teacher.

None of which meant much against the man on the other end of this call.

Waver knew what August's forces had already done in America. If this talk went badly, the El-Melloi faction—and probably everyone near him—could be wiped out before the Clock Tower could react. He had to be careful.

"Mr. August, may I ask you something?"

"Go ahead."

"What do you think of the Clock Tower? Or, more specifically… what do you think of magi?" Waver said.

That was the real question.

He needed to know how August saw magi before trying to negotiate. That way, Waver could tell if there was any chance to talk, or if he should start getting everyone ready to run.

August caught the careful wording immediately.

'This guy isn't here to test the waters. He wants something from me.'

Waver Velvet was trying to find a way to survive…

August looked over at Olga Marie. If Lord El-Melloi II was already involved, then the Olga Marie Animusphere from this timeline probably wasn't far behind. The current heir to the Department of Astromancy had been heading to Snowfield for a while. Sooner or later, she would meet the Caster standing next to him.

That promised to be entertaining.

"My opinion, huh?" August flexed his fingers, then smiled.

Everyone around the phone went quiet.

"Extermination!" No long explanation or polite wording.

One word was enough.

On the other end of the call, Lord El-Melloi II felt his heart leap into his throat.

—•——•——•——•——•——•—

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

....

~ Every 300 Power Stones = Bonus chapter!

~ 30 Advanced Chapters Available on my Patreon!

https://p-atreon.com/dragonnx

(Just remove the hyphen to access Patreon normally.)