EP 2: The Kamuy's Gold

...Go ahead and have a seat anywhere you like.

Don't worry. We may not be that far from Oniland, but I promise the oni won't ever find us here.

This cabin's a great hiding place. I even put up a Bounded Field around it for good measure.

Now let's see... Do I still have any tea?

I'm sorry I can't offer you much. I don't get many guests around here, so I don't usually stock up.

Doubly so since Servants don't really have any need for food and other necessities like that.

...Hmm.

Now, where to begin. You've already met the magifender oni, right?

？！

My name's Sitonai. I'm a High Servant.

High?

Servant?

A High Servant!

That's not a term I've ever seen in Chaldea's database. What is the difference between a High Servant and a normal one?

Taking a look at her readings now... Hmm, interesting. That's quite the Spirit Origin she's got.

She's definitely a single Servant, but she contains multiple entities, kind of like a Phantom Spirit.

You wouldn't happen to be several Divine Spirits rolled into one being, would you?

!!!

Heehee. That's right.

You're the first Master in Chitose, so I figured you and your entourage must be something special...

...and it certainly looks like you all know your stuff!

I have multiple Divine Spirits lending me their power. I'm both a Pseudo-Servant and a High Servant.

Well, technically, I guess one is more of a Heroic Spirit than a Divine Spirit.

Anyway, within this body, which has a connection to the Holy Grail...

...I have Freyja of the Norse, Louhi of the Finns, and...

Sitonai of the Ainu.

Are you familiar with her? They say she's one of the Eastern Dragon Slayers.

Oh, so you've heard of her!

Yes, the last one is Sitonai of the Ainu. An Eastern Dragon Slayer.

You really do know your stuff. I hardly knew anything about her, and she's part of this body!

？！

Back when Hokkaido used to be called Ezo on the Japanese mainland...there was a legend of a heroic young girl among the Ainu, the prefecture's original inhabitants.

It was about how she and her faithful dog managed to defeat a monstrous serpent...

That's right. She's one of the heroes from the Kamuy Yukar.

So basically, you're a Heroic Spirit with a connection to this land, right? I could've sworn the legend of Sitonai was from the Otaru region, though...

... ...

I'm not sure about that myself.

I'm guessing you know a lot more about how and why Servants appear in Singularities than me.

Sitonai shows the most on my Spirit Origin's surface, so that should work as my True Name for now.

Oh, and as for this body...it's kind of complicated. Let's just leave it at that.

If we ever end up forming a contract, I'll tell you all about it.

Hehe...that is, of course, if we ever get to that point!

Anyway, welcome to my secret hideout!

？！

My name's Mash Kyrielight.

And I'm Da Vinci. Thanks for getting us outta that tight spot there, Sitonai.

I am .

I'm Ibaraki-Douji, the oni general of Mt. Ooe. Not that I normally go around bragging about it.

...You and Oni Cure wouldn't happen to be old friends or something, would you?

Oni Cure?

Ah, you mean the magifender. Yes, that's right.

Well, we're not exactly friends, but it seems like we have pretty similar reasons for being here.

Then, you are both here to defeat the Great Oni?

Well, that was direct. Trust a ninja to get straight to the point, I guess!

Yes, that's right.

Oniland appeared in front of the old Chitose Mine out of nowhere.

And as you've probably figured, the Great Oni is its ruler.

He possesses incredible power. In fact, he created most of Oniland's employees just by splitting off bits of his own magical energy.

And as long as his magical energy lasts, Oniland will keep growing larger and gaining more employees.

That's the danger he represents.

Not even his commandersthe big oni you saw back thereknow his real identity.

What we do know is that he's a strange oni who dresses in jet-black and bloodred...

...and that he has invited everyone in Chitose to join him in Oniland for an endless carnival.

Hmm. A king of oni, then...

... ...

Sometimes, people call something an oni when it's actually something else. And Shuten and I definitely never bowed to anyone, royalty or no.

Oni might band together to increase our odds at surviving or make plundering easier, but we'd never do something so dumb as try to start a nation.

Can't really think of many oni who would rule one, either. I could count them on one hand...

There was the Evil King of Mutsu...Ootakemaru...and...

No way.

Does this mean the Great Oni is actually Ura, the legendary oni from the Kibi region!?

Hmm. I don't think so?

Oh. All right then.

I'm not even sure whether this Great Oni was even a proper oni or not. Do you think Ura would make an amusement park like Oniland?

No. No I don't.

What about all those underling oni? Would he make those?

Uh-uh.

Then, that would mean the Great Oni is

Yeah, I don't think it was Ura.

(Huh?)

(Then, that would mean... Hmm...! So Lady Ibaraki merely threw Ura's name out there without really giving it any thought before speaking...!)

(Still, I admire her fearlessness in speaking her mind, regardless of what is on it.)

Hey, Paraíso, quit looking at me like that; it tickles. Get those stars out of your eyes.

Now I see. Then do you have an idea of who the Great Oni might be, Sitonai?

Well, you're a sharp one, aren't you?

Yes, I do. The Great Oni's power comes from gold.

Yes. Gold.

Exactly.

？！

I think what happened is that a Holy Grail collected the nearby leyline's magical energy, then manifested as gold deep inside the old Chitose Mine.

I've been calling it the Kamuy's Gold. Once the Great Oni got his hands on it

He used it to create Oniland in order to guard the mine... Now I see. A Holy Grail would definitely be powerful enough to create something of this scale!

...The leyline's magical energy is nature itself. It's not there for random people to lay their hands on as they please or use up for no reason at all...

At least that's what the Sitonai part of me is saying.

Under normal circumstances, Chitose Mine...

...would never even have any gold that was connected to a Holy Grail, but...

... ...

Hey, Sitonai.

Yes?

An oni did this, not a person. Get it right.

...It's not meant to be used by oni.

(She corrected herself!)

...A-anyway, I still have more to tell you about the gold!

It's broken up into multiple fragments, and Oniland's attraction managers carry the biggest ones.

If you can collect all the gold fragments and seal them away, that should weaken the Great Oni a lot.

Weaken him, huh. Hmm. Why do we have to go to all that trouble?

I don't care how strong he is. We can just smash his face to a pulp right now.

No, you can't. You would never win. The Great Oni is just too strong, thanks to the Holy Grail.

...But it might be possible to beat him, if you're willing to suffer pretty heavy losses to do it...

But if you seal away all the gold first, you could probably do it without losing anyone. I really think that's the way to go.

What do you think, Master?

？！

Hehe. I thought you'd say that!

Don't worry about the sealing part. Between me, Louhi, and Freyja, I'm sure we can figure something out.

Oho, so we might get to see some Divine Spirit magecraft up close and personal too, huh? There's some data I'll be happy to gather.

Then...

Well, fine, I guess.

I'd still rather just skip right to him since I'm pretty sure I wouldn't lose, but I know I won't be able to convince Master.

I'm not dumb enough to ask questions when I already know the answer. So let's get to it!

We'll start by collecting all the pieces of this "Kamuy's Gold" stuff!

To do that, we just have to defeat this "Attack Saw Man-Eater" thing, right? What sort of Heroic Spirit is he?

Ibaraki, that's "Attraction manager," not "Attack Saw Man-Eater"!

It's just a job title, not a Servant's True Name!

Oh. Okay.

So it's not another one of those weird names like "High Servant" or "Assassin of Paraíso" or "Archer of Shinjuku" then...

Eh, whatever. I don't know anything about that sort of stuff, and I don't care either!

Weird names...?

I see... So my name is...weird...

Huh? Doesn't make it bad. I just find it odd because I never heard names like that before.

So cheer up already, shinobi. Your name kinda the same ring to it that Oni Cure has. To me, anyway. Sort of.

(I'm not sure I see the resemblance myself...)

Ahaha. You all really get along well, don't you.

You're not quite like any other Master I've ever known.

Now then, I'd like to see how you fight. I saw a bit earlier, but I was too far away to really tell.

Oh? Are you picking a fight with me, Sitonai?

You want to see how strong I am for yourself?

Yes, that's right.

...I see.

This is why Heroic Spirits are so much fun. They never fear oni, even though they're human.

Fine then, if that's what you want, that's what you'll get. Just don't go screaming for mercy too soon.

What would you have us do, Master?

Be warned, I'm very strong.

That's right. And don't hold back, or you might not live to regret it.

？！

Oh, but let's have a change of venue first. This is no place for a battle.

There's a cave right nearby that should be perfect! It's okay to use Noble Phantasms in there, too.

...Try not to die, okay?

That's enough, Shirou!

Good boy, Shirou. Thank you for your help. I'll summon you again later.

The battle is over! The creature I believe to be Sitonai's Noble Phantasm has stopped fighting!

Shirou's actually supposed to be a dog, but then Louhi said something that turned him into a kind of bear.

While we're on the subject...his name isn't really Shirou, either.

Anyway, I can see you're all real strong. Strong enough to collect all the fragments of the Kamuy's Gold.

...Hmm.

I haven't had my fill of fighting yet. If anything, I'm really only getting warmed up.

If we'd kept at this a little longer, my spear would've torn through your Spirit Origin like so much confetti.

But, all right. I'm back in the zone for fighting in this Spirit Origin now. Oniland can throw all the fake oni it wants at me, and it won't make any difference!

Tell us, Lady Sitonai, are these attraction managers oni as well?

... ...

Yes, but they're not normal oni.

All of the managers are also Servants.

Gehehehehe...!

After all the trouble I took to hijack an Oniland bus and set up an ambush for those annoying guests...

...they never even bothered to show up!

I don't think they're even coming! Curse you, you cowards!

They don't seem to be hiding out in the city, either! Gehehehehe, very well then!

My attraction managers will be sure to show them a good time! Gehehehe! Gahahahahaha!

Now go, my merry-go-round manager! Show these terrible guests the power of the Gold Servants!