I am a Peerless Hero without equal! (WC/Currently in FGO Part 1)

Ritsuka was one of the first people back from work. He knocked on the surface several times as he slipped past the stacks of empty boxes to reach the front door. The sound of footsteps followed before the door swung open, revealing Mash.

Seeing the bright smile on her face greeting him, Ritsuka felt the tiredness of a long day melting away like snow in spring.

"Senpai!" Her voice was like a godsend. Ritsuka stood taller, his back straighter as he entered the home.

Mash took off his coat of rags, threw it to the side, and revealed the Mystic Code underneath. "Mary and I have prepared a large dinner for you. It should be more flavorful since she added more salt and a single emergency ration pellet."

Ritsuka didn't feel like responding, so he simply nodded and took a seat by the dining table.

"Mary taught me so many skills I didn't know back in Chaldea! She taught me how to sew clothes, and how to thread a string through the eye of a needle. I wasn't too good at that, the needle part. It's very difficult…"

Ritsuka tuned Mash out, isolating himself in his own world. In here, only his thoughts remained. In here, there was peace, away from the suffocating cesspit of selfishness that is the outside. The teen thought about his journey so far, and how easy he had it.

Every single problem, from Fafnir back in France, to the enemy army in Constantinople, and finally the greatest hero of Greece Heracles, Kuku dealt with them all. Alone no less. She was unbelievably strong. She was truly peerless. Selfless. No wonder people of her caliber go around the multiverse saving worlds in danger.

Perhaps he was spoiled. Witnessing both Olga and Kuku, Ritsuka formed the preconception that those with authority were selfless. He knew there were outliers, but generally those who held power were willing to serve the people to the best of their ability. But now, he saw how that's not a universal rule. No, that was never a universal rule.

Kuku and Olga were the exception. People like George were the norm.

Ritsuka wants to be exceptional. But how? There's no need for normal people like him to be exceptional. Without the title of being the Last Master, he was really just another face in the crowd. An unexceptional person, powerless to change the world. Unlike Kuku and Olga.

"Senpai?"

Hearing Mash's voice calling him brought Ritsuka out of his world. The world was a blur, prompting the teen to rub his eyes.

"Mash?"

"Are you alright?"

Ritsuka let out a heavy sigh fit for someone much older than him. Such a loaded statement from Mash threatened to shatter his composure, and he wanted to release everything pent up.

"I'm fine. Just had a really tiring day at work."

How did the other kids do it? Remain so energetic even after experiencing what he did? Even more so for those who were younger. Those who can still smile…

Ritsuka's eyes graced William. The boy sat in the corner of the room, atop a tiny stool reading his book. "What book is he reading?"

Mash glanced at William before facing Ritsuka again, "A Collection of Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen."

Ritsuka thought of how lonely William was. He slept in his own corner, away from the others. None of the kids talked with him or played with him, and even Mary appeared to see him as nothing more than an unremovable stain to be ignored. Only Charlie was vaguely close, serving as his only conversation of the day.

Ritsuka got up from his seat and walked over to William. Leaning on the wall beside William, Ritsuka looked over his shoulders and read the book. Even still, William pretended not to notice him until Ritsuka said, "What fairy tale is your favorite?"

"T— the Ugly Duckling." William weakly said. His voice was barely audible and Ritsuka had to strain his ears just to pick up the sounds.

"The Ugly Ducking huh? Any reason why that tale is your favorite?"

"You don't have to spend time with me. You can ignore me, like the rest of them. Please ignore me."

Ritsuka frowned, "Why? You seem so lonely I couldn't help but strike up a conversation."

William closed the book.

"You're clearly not going to be my friend. All my brothers and sisters promised they'd be my friends, but after Mother died they all betrayed me."

"..."

Well. William's strained relationship seemed to begin to begin after Mary's sister died somewhere in the Congo. Why did the relationship deteriorate? There had to be a reason, right?

"I'll be your friend."

William was cautious. Purple met blue as William stared deep into Ritsuka's eyes, trying to discern if any lies were present.

"Fine. If you insist, but know that I value promises greatly. Do not break them."

"I won't. I promise."

One by one Mary's family trickled in. First was Richard, then Gena, Tommy, Wyatt, and the rest of Mary's kids before Charlie finally came home. The contrast between Ritsuka and Mary's family was like night and day. They were cheerful just like yesterday.

Dinner began, being a chicken stew.

"A chicken stew?!" Richard exclaimed, "What's so special about today that we're having a chicken stew??"

"Well, Mash over there helped me sew colorful decorations onto the shirt. Donald was so happy with the design he decided to pay us extra." Mary explained. Her well-worn hands grasped a ladle and began pouring the stew into bowls. The woman made sure every bowl got at least one piece of meat.

Ritsuka looked down at his bowl. The meat was tiny. It was a tiny strip, barely enough to get stuck in one's teeth…

The sheer joy on the face of Mary's family was oddly depressing. Ritsuka heard stories of people feeding their ego by donating to the poor, but how is one's ego fed in the face of such a depressing reality?

"Excuse me," William said as he got up with his half-finished bowl of soup. Ritsuka immediately felt like something was wrong when he saw the empty look in his eyes.

"William?"

The boy didn't respond. He left like a whisper unnoticed by the rest of Mary's family. They spoke of their day, telling of their exploits or funny events that happened.

That was until Mary shushed everyone. Her attempt at silencing destroyed the mood.

"Mary, what are you—" Charlie asked but was cut off.

"Shhh! Do you hear that?"

"Hear what?"

"That!"

Gena began, "Mama, I'm not hearing any—"

"Quiet," Charlie commanded. The house descended into absolute silence. There wasn't any sound; stillness covered every spot in the room, and everyone froze. Ritsuka strained his ears to perceive whatever noise Mary was talking about.

What sound could Mary be possibly talking about?

There was only…

Only…

…only…

............on

............…ly......

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....…

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…

......................…

....…

...…squeaking?

*BANG*

The silence was like a dam, but with its destruction, there was a sudden flood of noise and chaos. There was a surging cacophony outside, leaking through the window. The door of the house banged as if hit by floodwater, the force sending the window frames rattling and vibrations echoing across the home. There was a loud crash outside, as the boxes stacked out front must have fallen. The half-full pot shook and swung in place like a pendulum.

"The Chittering! The Chittering is here!" Wyatt screamed.

The husband muttered under his breath, "The fucking Vermin Tide."

Mary and Charlie immediately got to work. They covered windows with whatever they had, from rags to even their own clothing with Charlie taking off his shirt. Ritsuka saw numerous scars on Charlie's back. They were like brushstrokes of an artist painting a macabre work.

There was a constant buzz of pattering feet outside, almost as if it were raining. Ritsuka could barely think with the high-pitched squeals filling the air. The noises invaded his thoughts, like viruses that prevented his mind from forming a coherent idea.

A hand grabbed his shoulder. He felt the bite of stairs as he was dragged up to the second floor, where oddly enough there was less noise.

His eyes came into focus, and all he saw was white.

Oh no, it's just a lamp that was placed right in front of him.

"What…? What's going on?" Ritsuka asked as he got up in a daze. The noise was much quieter yet nonetheless present.

Then a scream cut through the ceaseless buzz of chittering sounds. It was a human scream!

Without thinking twice, Ritsuka ran to the window, pushing past some of Mary's kids, and saw a sight that would forever burn itself into his waking mind.

There was moonlight tonight—abnormally bright moonlight. Oh, how he wished there hadn't been, for the darkness could have concealed the horrible scene happening out there.

Every last inch of the street was covered in rats. There wasn't a single space where one could safely step on. Endless number of rats some as small as a fist while scant few are as big as house cats.

Dozens of these rats piled on top of each other, trying to reach this one slum dweller who stood atop several boxes beside a window. Relentless and frenzied in their determination, with eruptions of wood chips, it wasn't long before the boxes were shredded and the slum dweller held on only by his arms.

"Help me! Help me!" He screamed out and tried to climb in through the window.

Hands reached out from the window frame, pushing the slum dweller into the pile of rats.

His screams drowned out his pleas for help. The rats descended upon him like piranhas. A rat half the size of Ritsuka's forearm took off the man's right wrist in one bite, revealing what might've been nerves that shimmered like threads of glass in the moonlight. Blood squirted from the ragged and sloppy stump, and several rats fought with the larger one for a piece of the severed hand. A second bite from a smaller rat tore away at his cheeks and the sounds of choking colored his screams. Dozens of other rats ripped into his clothes.

The man fought back as any animal driven to a corner would. With miraculous strength he stood up, flinging away the rats and making Ritsuka think this slum dweller had a— slight— chance of living through this ordeal—

A loud squeal like that of a pig suffocated that hope. Several rats mercilessly bit into his thighs, tearing large chunks of meat as if their teeth were sharp blades. White foam mixed with crimson emerged from the slum dweller's shredded mouth as he collapsed back into the streets.

Some rats fought with each other, trying to pry meat already taken.

The slum dweller shrieked in what must've been unbearable agony. Half-eaten limbs came off. All kinds of unmentionables were being devoured. Just looking at what was happening caused Ritsuka to hug himself as the sensation of imagined pain bordered on reality.

Why was he still looking at this? Ritsuka was unable to look away; his gaze was fixed.

There was a veritable fountain of blood spraying forth from that pile of rats. Through the gaps within the writhing swarm, Ritsuka saw how the man's eyes were gouged out, shimmering pearly white orbs stained with red as half a dozen vermins fought over their prize. Skin broke and organs— like the intestines— felt the night's cold air, spilling out into the streets like someone kicking over a full trashcan.

Mercifully, the screams stopped as the process of turning a man into minced meat finished. Even if he died in horrific agony, at least it's over.

Ritsuka took little comfort in that.

Then he saw some children walking through the swarm of rats. Untouched.

The teen felt his knees go weak. The next thing that Ritsuka knew, he was on the floor. The taste of bile was in his mouth, alongside the scent of vomit—a presence of innocence within a sea of vermins, that was what sent Ritsuka over the edge.

"Bwua?"

Ah, he vomited.

Ritsuka felt like he was at the bottom of a well, all sounds of the outside world muted, a dull, stretched-out tune barely recognizable as something more than background noise.

That slum dweller died an appalling death, primarily from being pushed. He then mentally screamed 'Why?'

"Just… why?"

It was an entirely preventable death. Preventable suffering. Preventable! Just grab that slum dweller up through the window and into the house!

"Why aren't the rats attacking us?" Mash's voice brought Ritsuka back into the world.

He saw how everyone huddled next to him, in a circle around a lamp as if it were a campfire. There was the sound of dozens of rats downstairs, yet none up here.

"The rats from the Vermin Tide keep clear of the light. They're scared of it, 'cause they can't stand God's grace. We'll be safe—"

"Damn it Mary enough with the religious shit!" Ritsuka snapped, his hands shaking as the memories of that man being eaten alive were still fresh— still warm. "What the fuck is this? This… Vermin Tide?"

Mary appeared offended, "As the Son teaches forgiveness, I'll let your cheek slide this once. The Vermin Tide's a thing that happens every few weeks, no warnin' at all. The homeless reckon when the rats start gatherin', it means the next Tide's on its way, but that's hardly somethin' to trust. They devour anyone caught outside the light and snatch up unwanted kids, draggin' 'em down to the sewers where they're never seen again."

Unwanted kids?

"WILLIAM!" Ritsuka exclaimed, "He left right before the Tide came— we need to go—"

Ritsuka's legs worked before his mind caught up.

"And go where?" Charlie asked, his words halted Ritsuka mid-step, "Into the swarm downstairs? You'll be eaten like that man outside. Better wait it out."

"Your son is outside!"

Mary then proclaimed morbidly, "Maybe it's God's will. My sister was that careless, leavin' her boy behind to go adventurin'. We didn't even have a body to lay to rest. He was never happy livin' with us, so maybe it's best he joins her up in heaven."

Ritsuka's mouth gapped as he found words fleeting. He tried to articulate the raw emotions churning inside him, the feeling of betrayal. However, too many words tried to come out at once, sentences stuck at the gate as each vied for escape. Only silence came out.

"You…" That was all Ritsuka could say, "You…! You!"

Mary's callous words seem to rub even Charlie in the wrong way. The man gave a sideways glance at her.

"You are no mother." Ritsuka's scathing words caused immense distress on Mary's face. She must've felt violated almost, those equally callous words pricked her values in ways similar to how she pricked Ritsuka's own values. "All mothers should love another's child as much as their own. Even more so when that child is her sister's."

Ritsuka thought about his old neighbors. His friend's mother and how welcoming they made him feel at a stranger's house. That is a mother. Not whatever Mary is.

"You…! You…" Mary's eyes grew a sheen of shimmer, "No! Why does my sister get to go off on adventures, eh? Where's my adventure?"

Hearing of a distinct lack of rats moving about outside, Ritsuka moved downstairs, prompting Mary to call out, "Where are you going?"

"To do what a mother should. To find William."

"He's gone! No one who's been taken by the Vermin Tide ever comes back! You're headin' off on a fool's errand, you are!" Mary stumbled forward and caught Ritsuka by his arms, holding on to prevent him from moving another step.

"Senpai, are you sure?" Even Mash questioned him.

Ritsuka guesses from her perspective, that he's essentially going on a perilous mission with the target very likely to be dead. Logically, he should write off William, concluding the kid must've served as some kind of living storage for the rats, where during the weeks they're not attacking they're feasting on them.

Fuck. That.

No, not to William's horrible fate, but something else.

Even if it's dangerous and this mission has little chance of succeeding, Ritsuka knew he had to try. He had to. He had to. He had to. He had to save someone, to do something on his own. To rescue someone without Kuku's help. To replicate what she did, to prove to everyone, but mostly himself, that Ritsuka Fujimaru is not useless.

He is useful! He deserves to stand next to Kuku and the other Heroes of Pan-Human History, never as peers but at least as something more than a simple bystander.

Otherwise… otherwise… then there's truly no point in him being here.

He is Ritsuka Fujimaru, the Last Master of Mankind and a representative of humanity. What kind of representation would he portray if he let Kuku do everything? That means the Age of Man was a mistake, and returning to a time when gods defined man's fate was the correct choice.