Gotham Singularity (XIV) Enkidu the Beauty

That's too far-fetched.

Fujimaru Ritsuka leaned against the railing, the cold touch making her exceptionally alert, and she took in the fleeting moment Yoru's movements froze. The final, almost fabricated excuse made her frown.

For a moment, she wondered if she was still dreaming. Were there still problems with this singularity that they hadn't discovered? She looked at Holmes, trying to get a hint or an answer.

However, time did not give her a chance to continue verifying the information; a sudden, earth-shaking tremor interrupted the conversation.

The burst of greenery that appeared in an instant gradually spread, quickly turning half of Gotham green. Even standing on this low rooftop, the source could be clearly seen.

"Damn it!" Nightwing couldn't help but curse. He and Robin's expressions turned serious. How many ordinary people would suffer this undeserved calamity today?

They surveyed the location of the source and quickly decided that Nightwing would go back to retrieve heavy equipment. Robin would handle the other escaped criminals. If Ritsuka and the others wished, they could also accompany Robin to help.

Jason clicked his tongue. Faced with the visible danger, Nightwing and his team wouldn't let anyone else take risks. But having truly understood Chaldea's strength, he looked at Ritsuka, and the orange-haired girl nodded at him.

She shifted her position, hiding herself between Holmes and Jason, the two young men acting as two walls of suitable height to block others from peeping at Ritsuka.

"As long as there's a way," Jason thought. Now all he had to do was find a way to get closer... Hmm? He raised one eyebrow and looked in surprise at Fujimaru Ritsuka reaching out her hand, a shadow gradually solidifying in front of her.

Long, green hair reaching his waist; an androgynous face. He opened his eyes, his pale green pupils like a calm lake. The loose, plain white robes he wore evoked the image of a deity devoid of joy or sorrow.

“Then please, bring her here.” Fujimaru Ritsuka gazed into those green eyes and said softly. The moment she finished speaking, the figure in front of her vanished.

Jason: "...!"

"A complete revelation!" He opened his mouth, then said dryly, "I remember this guy saying that the Servants you can bring are all pre-selected?"

“Just a little trick.” Fujimaru Ritsuka winked slyly at Jason. “A Spirit Origin Shadow summons a Servant that isn’t a complete form and doesn’t have its own consciousness, but it can save your life in a critical moment.”

Jason watched the shadow disappear in admiration. He thought Fujimaru Ritsuka was being far too modest; this was no small feat. If he possessed such skills, Gotham City would probably be the most civilized city in the entire United States with the lowest crime rate right now.

During the brief exchange, Nightwing next to him threw out the grappling hook again, but he failed to jump into the air because another big sway forced him to hold onto the railing. Jason was sure Nightwing was muttering curses under his breath.

Immediately afterwards, a loud crash echoed throughout almost half of Gotham, and Robin stared in disbelief as the vines and plants downstairs instantly withered and turned yellow.

As if it were contagious, the withering quickly spread to every corner touched by the vines, and even the source of the greenery, the location of Poison Ivy, was not spared.

"God, this is truly a bizarre day!" Robin forced out the words through gritted teeth. He took a deep breath and asked the oracle, "What's going on with Poison Ivy? Has anyone gone to help her?"

"No." The oracle's voice also revealed a hint of confusion. "There's a new pit there now... Hmm, another problem is that Poison Ivy is missing."

Robin: "..."

He was still trying to analyze whether it was a righteous ally that stopped Poison Ivy's destructive actions, or Poison Ivy's own enemies... It must be enemies, he couldn't imagine what kind of righteous heroes Gotham had left now.

Nightwing had stopped talking and slowly closed his eyes. The chaotic scene of demons making him want to quit.

Suddenly, a commotion arose from the side. Nightwing heard a word or two, scratched the back of his head, and subconsciously asked, "What are you talking about?"

“I’m asking,” the two walls of people blocking Nightwing’s view parted in the middle, “is this the Poison Ivy you’ve been talking about?” Fujimaru Ritsuka asked, pointing at Enkidu and holding the green-skinned woman.

“Yeah,” Nightwing glanced at her subconsciously and answered based on his intuition, “That skin color is... damn it, Poison Ivy!!”

He was startled by Poison Ivy, who was bound hand and foot. Just moments before, they had been discussing how to be safely brought back to Arkham by Poison Ivy, and now this powerful escaped convict had appeared before him so easily.

Nightwing had to pinch the soft flesh on the inside of Robin's arm to confirm that this wasn't a dream. Robin calmly glanced back at him, instantly confirming to Nightwing that he was still dreaming.

"It really was a dream...ouch!" Nightwing clutched his arm and turned around abruptly. He saw Robin with an innocent smile, asking him if he still thought it was a dream.

“But this reality is even more absurd than a dream.” Nightwing muttered as he walked up to Poison Ivy. “My God, how did she do that?” He couldn’t help but poke her skin; it was warm.

Then, his gaze involuntarily moved upwards, wanting to see which righteous person had done this good deed, only to be startled by the beautiful green-haired woman in front of him.

It's not that he's never seen a beautiful woman; not to mention those from afar, even his family members are universally acknowledged by reporters as handsome. But this man's appearance is like a natural embodiment of a beautiful, gentle flower, an otherworldly, dreamlike beauty.

"Ahem." Nightwing asked Ritsuka in a low voice, "Is this young lady your friend?"

"?"

Fujimaru Ritsuka blinked.

Cough cough, why did she sense a hint of being flirted with? Following Nightwing's gaze, she looked up at Enkidu's face and suddenly understood.

Wow, Xiao En's beauty is still stunning.

“Yes, he is my friend, but here he is just a shadow.” Fujimaru Ritsuka smiled, still slightly panting from using magic.

She coughed lightly a few times. "And most of the time, I would assume he is a man."

As if to confirm her words, Enkidu suddenly glanced at Ritsuka and then vanished from the spot, leaving only the unconscious Poison Ivy as proof of his arrival.

Nightwing froze on the spot: "..."

"……ah?"

According to an unnamed witness, a burst of cheerful laughter and frantically shaking shoulders could be heard from the rooftop.

This was the first time they genuinely laughed after Batman's death. But the smiles didn't last long; different parts of Gotham still needed their help.

Little did they know that in another time and space, someone was watching the green-haired beauty gradually disappear on the screen, rhythmically tapping the armrest of his chair, a polite smile curving his lips.

Then, she turned to the young man who looked exactly like the beauty, "What a perfect time to come—Enkidu, what's your opinion on Rikka using you?"

Inside Chaldea, Enkidu still wore his usual smiling expression, but for some reason, a strange light flickered in his green eyes. "Hmm? I'm very satisfied with Master's choice."

He paused for a moment, "But I think it would be better utilized if I were the one to go." Sion detected a hint of danger in his gentle voice.

Seeing that the conversation was about to escalate into yet another divine war, Sion immediately stopped the conversation and remained silent. There was no need for an all-powerful Ritsuka to mediate here.

After a while, she watched as Enkidu remained firmly standing in the command room, his attention focused on Fujimaru Ritsuka, who was performing acts of heroism in Gotham on the screen. She rubbed her temples and turned her gaze back to the green-haired beauty.

“Sigh, you don’t need to beat around the bush anymore. What does King Gilgamesh want with you in the command room?” Sion said frankly. “But if you hope to participate in this singularity, then unfortunately, we already have enough people.”

“It wasn’t Jill who asked for it… well, but we can’t say it has nothing to do with him.”

"What?"

Ignoring Sion's probing gaze, the beautiful green-haired figure stared at the earnest orange-haired girl on the screen and slowly said, "Ah... I now feel that decision was absolutely correct."

Gilles was right, the divine weapon on the verge of breaking down thought. It was precisely because it was about to be damaged that it wanted to be used by this kind Master forever.

If that's how she ends up... haha, then she can just self-destruct.

—

Fujimaru Ritsuka could hardly remember what had happened that bizarre night. It was the first time she had truly experienced Gotham's chaos and abyss; the scene was so chaotic it could have been boiled into a broth.

Even Sherlock Holmes commented that it was even better than Shinjuku, and the only saving grace was that Moriarty didn't interfere in this chaotic scene.

So, unsurprisingly, Ritsuka, who had helped without expecting anything in return until the moon had set, slept until the sun was high in the sky the next day.

Of course, if Xu Fu hadn't suddenly pounced on her and woken her up, she probably could have slept until the afternoon.

"Aaaaaaah, Master, stop sleeping! Stop—sleeping!!"

"Oh my god, what happened, Xu Fu?" Ritsuka opened her eyes in pain and tried to move Xu Fu away. "Calm down, please."

"Extremely important! Time! Time has gone backwards again!"

"……What?"

Today's date is October 16th!

Fujimaru Ritsuka instantly regained her senses.

The next second, as if a flying dragon was chasing her, she immediately threw off the covers, changed her clothes, picked up Xu Fu, and rushed downstairs.

"Oh, Mr. Holmes!" she exclaimed in alarm. "What's going on?!"

Holmes was already seated at the table, calmly handing Fujimaru Ritsuka a cup of black tea. Once she and Xu Fu had calmly sat down, he slowly said, "Miss Ritsuka, it seems my previous reasoning was wrong. The power granted by the Holy Grail is not a fixed time loop."

"Ah, what should that be?" Fujimaru Ritsuka asked cautiously.

“It’s just my guess.” Holmes took a sip of his black tea. “The user can return to the morning of October 16th from any point in the future.”

At any given point, Fujimaru Ritsuka's pupils constricted slightly as she marveled at the miracle. She knew that time was a mysterious thing in magic, and few could fool it; even some gods couldn't do it.

But a woman who wasn't even a magician did it using the Holy Grail.

Moreover, random jumps consume significantly more magic power than fixed time loops, and she suddenly became worried about the physical condition of the person who possessed the Holy Grail.

"You've noticed too, haven't you?" Holmes said seriously. "Even the most powerful magic cannot turn back time indefinitely. That means we don't have much time left, and this might be our last chance."

The door suddenly clicked open, and Jason strode in, his face a picture of complex emotions, as if he'd just eaten three plates of pure British Stargazing.

"What's wrong with you?" Fujimaru Ritsuka asked, looking at him. "Why is your expression so contorted? Is something wrong outside?"

"In fact... things are too good. Those who were supposed to be alive are alive, and those who weren't supposed to happen haven't happened, ha."

Jason went outside to check on things after discovering that time had reversed this morning. Black Mask was alive, Bruce Wayne was holding a press conference, and the people who died in the Arkham riots were living their lives in an orderly manner.

It was as if nothing had happened.

“While I should be grateful for this damn time reversal, what does it all mean?” Jason strode over and gulped down the red tea left for him. “To die so easily and come back to life so easily… Ha, what does death even mean?”

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Author's Note: * Currently playing the game, the new Arknights mode is so much fun!

* Enkidu's "divine weapon on the verge of damage" is from his bond voice lines!