Archive of Our Own ^beta

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Olga: ¡Ay chihuahua! I'm going to feel that one in the morning!

Commentary:

• A mint-condition Marvel "No Prize" (with paid shipping!) for those who guess what Lovecraft's latest alias is a reference to!
• The impetus of this comic and those following it are based on an old fan theory relating to the Crypters when they were first revealed two years ago.
• After learning that Peporicino wanted an Indian Archer, players speculated that he was initially aiming for Arjuna. This lead to them assuming that the antisocial Daybit would’ve wanted a more mindless Berserker akin to Darius III. Ergo, the other Crypters would have wanted/received the Servants from the Part 1 poster sans Jeanne and Artoria.

Kadoc=Mephistopheles

Ophelia=Altera

Hinako=Ushiwakamaru

Scandinavia=Arjuna

Wodime=Scathach

Beryl=Jekyll/Hyde

Daybit=Darius III

• With Team A out in full force on all sides of the pond, I thought it’d be keen to play with this idea with a sizzle reel series of a “What If?” Scenario. As in, “What if this particular Crypter/Team A mage hadn’t been blown up at the start of Part 1?”
• That's why the series is titles "P1 Crypters" as P1 stands for both "Part 1" and "Player 1" since they take the role of Chaldea's "main" Master.
• Nasu himself has weighed in on this, but purely on survival terms as to how far each respective member of Team A would get in the Goetia saga. I wanted to sort of hone in on how each would-be protagonist would interact with their respective Servants and the weirder stuff that, thanks to the 4th Year Anniversary Trailer, we know to be deliciously canon.
• Don’t worry, Ritsuka and Mash are still kicking in all these scenarios as Master and Servant. However, they’re more like sidekicks to each Crypter, although each relationship has a very different dynamic.
• I tweaked the dialogue of the famous Part 1 Prologue explosion scene with Gudao and Mash a bit. I hope you guys don't mind!
• See you guys on Thursday! I hope you enjoy this "What If?" series.

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Fun Fact: Kadoc is the name of a band...a Spanish...electronic house music band.

Commentary:

• Lupus used to just mean "wolf", until 13th Century physician Rogerius Frugardi used it to describe the erosive facial symptoms of a then-unknown autoimmune disease as he likened them to the patients having been bitten by a wolf in the affected areas.
• This is the kind of low-hanging fruit that Meph would immediately latch on to when he and Kadoc first meet, kneecapping one of the few real cool things about his new Master right off the bat.
• Kadoc’s a fun choice for the Crypter Who Didn’t Get Turned into a Kentucky Fried Conjurer. He’s the runt of the litter, barely better than Ritsuka by virtue of being a more typically ruthless mage. As the sole surviving member of Team A, he’d have the unenviable task of being on the front lines when he originally intended to do as little fighting as possible. It would be poor form to hide behind his juniors; the guy’s got at least an iota of pride. So he puts up a strong front, defaulting to the training Marisbury gave him and kind of hanging back strategically so Ritsuka and Mash do most of the work anyway.
• Crypters/Team A members will mostly refer to their respective Servants by their Class names. This is shorthand for stressing how they're not nearly as nice as Ritsuka.

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"And I'm also grateful that we got to beat up a so-called 'Demon God'. Whatever THAT is. Heh."

Commentary:

• Character Development. That's what this is. You've gotta love it.
• Casters are dangerous Servants to have since most of them wind up betraying their Masters at some point. I think Medea set the world record. You Go, Girl!
• So Caster Cú and Mozart NOT doing that was a pretty big deal.
• But Mephistopheles is neither of those guys.
• At least he's honest about the whole backstabbing thing being a possibility. And he ultimately decided not to do that. No one got hurt (much) or died (this time)! Give him a prize!
• That is, assuming he was telling the truth about them needing an antidote at all. Or if that's antidote they're really drinking.
• Who knows?
• Meph would have a bit of an inferiority-superiority thing when it comes to fighting the Demon Pillars. So him being paired with Kadoc is made even more fitting!

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It's wonderful to be wanted.

Commentary:

• Mephistopheles puts his high Witchcraft Skill to goo...to use. I mean, it should be able to do this at least.
• A bit of a long one today, but I hope you still have fun with it!
• This comic, as the beginning implies, takes place after Meph's Interlude where the protagonist (or in this case, Kadoc) helps him re-kill Faust.
• I know this background is from the Storm Border, but Part 1 Chaldea lacked an outright medical bay, so I thought this would be a good substitute. Hopefully, not too many people noticed.
• I wanted to show that Kadoc had a bit of an edge to him in this comic; that the idea of just getting rid of Mephistopheles has in fact crossed his mind. I also wanted to cast a bit of light into his dysfunctional one-sided rivalry with Gudao. Plus, how Meph would use the latter to get around the former.
• Kadoc and Ritsuka would have a fairly weird relationship. Ritsuka’s a very reverse-Kadoc kind of character with a darker color scheme and a more sunny personality, but he still looks up to Kadoc as his senior, hoping that the dour magician will have the answer to the “all my friends and family are dead. What now?” question. Kadoc’s got mixed feelings about it; he finally has someone who’s definitely beneath him in the Chaldea pecking order, but the gap between them isn’t that big and he’s saddled with all the responsibilities of being a “senpai” sans the power and wisdom he thought would come with the station. He is, however, more well-versed in magecraft, world history and myth than Ritsuka. So he’s got that going for him.
• No matter the outcome (short of being discovered), Mephistopheles would have won in this scenario. If Kadoc handed him over to Fujimaru, Meph will be with a Master who seemingly has the skills to improve Servants. If he didn't, well, Meph gets to torment the lad more, now with the knowledge that Kadoc wouldn't dare get rid of the him for fear of admitting defeat to the "rookie".
• Given Roman's real identity, he'd probably get along strangely well with demonic or quasi-demonic beings like Mephistopheles; perhaps a bit too much, and giving them a little more leeway than he reasonably should. Meph, likewise, would take a liking to him for reasons he wouldn't be able to easily articulate. Notice that he didn't poison(?) him in the previous strip.
• So did you realise that something was "off" with Doctor Roman before the big reveal? And if so, when?

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CAST(er) AWAY

Commentary:

• Kadoc would be a bit jealous that Mash bonded with Fujimaru so quickly and easily despite technically knowing him longer. Who knows? Maybe if he had tried to help Mash on his own instead of trying to flee the burning central room to get help, maybe he’d have gotten her as his Shielder. Instead, Kadoc gets a Caster like he always wanted. Which isn’t too bad. He won’t have to worry much about mana and having a more experienced magician on hand could help him fake the “hero” thing better.
• Unfortunately, that Caster is Mephistopheles. More on him later.
• I had Anne, Mary, and Hektor in higher Ascensions to show how screwed Kadoc and Mephistopheles are.
• Kadoc might seem to be acting pedantic, but his concern for the oranges is rather par for the course if you take into account Medea's various Bad Ends in Fate/Stay Night and the...carpentry hobby that Gilles has in Fate/Zero.
• So yeah, in spite of what the previous strips might have suggested, Meph isn't some invincible meme lord. There's only so much he can get away with. Luckily, his Master is always along for the ride! Whether he wants to be or not.

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Previously on Dragon Fate SUPER: The Search for More Money...

Commentary:

• Just imagine. You’re a mage who’s lived as a Luddite for much of their life, ignorant of most modern societal changes happening outside your hellish Hogwarts hermitages, when 6 Feet and 5 Inches of pure pirate muscle begins hitting you with muggle memes. Whether you love or hate Blackbeard’s references, at least you can understand them. Most mages would only have the foggiest idea of what he’d be trying to say when he starts bragging about how “L33T” he is and how he’s totally going to “dab” on the rest of your Chaldea chum "haters" in a display of his impressive “gains.” You bluff your way as best as you can, holding your tongue as you’re surrounded by buccaneers and Blackbeard’s allied Servants. Then the maniac busts out the “Gangnam Style.” (I do believe Kadoc, Pepe, and maybe even Yu would be the least affected by Teach’s anachronistic jargon. But it’d be funny seeing Daybit have to deal with it.).
• A running gag throughout Part 1 for Kadoc and Fujimaru is the two being constantly mistaken for one another; bad guys would gun harder for Ritsuka believing him to be Kadoc and would underestimate Kadoc as a nuisance due to thinking he’s Ritsuka. The pair are outright called Guildenstern and Rosencrantz by Shakespeare, which Kadoc recognizes as a none-too subtle insult.
• I’ve always thought that Mephistopheles had potential. Cover Casters before him were villainous, but we’re always trying to justify or contextualize their awful actions through a tragedy that had befallen them in life (Medea, Gilles) or with a “great work” they had left unfinished due to their deaths (Paracelsus, Avicebron, Shakespeare). Mephistopheles just wants to be evil. He’s got his reasons for it, which make him a dark reflection of the likes of Sieg and Ilya. He was a homunculus doomed to live a short existence so he decided to immortalize himself through sheer notoriety; passing himself off as a true devil as he rampaged across Germany granting wishes and killing clients with magecraft before his pithy lifespan caught up with him. And with him being archived into the Throne, he’s kind of vindicated. The Foulest Fiend in All the World Lives! So why mess with a good thing? Er, bad thing? He should keep going!
• Like Kadoc and Ritsuka, Mash and Mephistopheles would inexplicably be mistaken for another (My shield is just scissor-shaped! Don’t judge!) or, as it was in Shiki’s case, folks assume they’re related.
• Sorry, Laurel & Hardy.

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Whiteheads in Whitechapel

Commentary:

• I really enjoy writing Mephistopheles. Could you tell?
• Kadoc would be paradoxically screwed and blessed to have Mephistopheles as his Servant. As a homunculus masquerading as the Devil, Mephistopheles is nowhere near as strong as an actual demon, and he’s more well-suited to scenarios where trickery is possible rather than the all-out wars more common to the various Singularities. Plus, regular Casters are bad enough as most are self-absorbed egotists who consider themselves far above the mages who summoned them (in fairness, they usually are), so one who’s remorselessly evil should be even worse. However, Mephistopheles is, for better or worse, an honest monster, and that makes him easier to predict and handle than some seemingly benign wizard who’d abruptly betray you for “a higher cause”.
• Kadoc’s cynicism and milquetoast demeanor would also be a big help. He’d morosely interpret almost everything Mephistopheles says or does as a thinly veiled threat (he’d be right most of the time) and he’s just the kind of desperate, substandard schmuck that Mephistopheles would love to see utterly ruined, so the clown would have a vested interest in keeping him alive.
• Based on his role in the KnK collab, Mephistopheles would likely have a fun relationship with Mash as well. Mash is always in awe whenever she meets a famous person from myth or history while Mephistopheles likes to heckle these same figures by accentuating their less flattering aspects (if not preferring to meet with legendary baddies straight-up). He’d have a ball for most of Part 1 ala...

Orleans: Fake it until you make it, Jeanne “Alter”. That’s my motto!

Septem: It’s the Emperor! The Emperor of Revelations!

Okeanos: Don’t worry, your majesty! We’ll bust you out of this Flat Earther’s wet dream and you can go back to pillaging and colonizing to your heart’s content! What’s that? You’re a pirate, not a queen? Ahahaha. What’s the difference?

London: Sir Mordred! I’m a tremendous fan of your work. Very biblical. Simultaneously upfront and backstabby. Ohohoho! Careful with that stolen sword!

America: I’ve met King David, Presi-King Edison. And I gotta say, you and Mr. Ford were right about absolutely everything!

Camelot: At it again, eh, Lancelot?

Babylonia: Oh poo. He’s a wise king in this era. Those are no fun.

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When the clown cuts/with his shears, dear/Scarlet billows/start too spread...

Commentary:

• If you really think about it, aren't most cars just bombs on wheels?
• The spider bombs from the latter half of this strip are a swarm of Ticking-kuns from Mephistopheles' Valentine's Day Craft Essence. Had to edit it out of that card myself.
• Some of you might be wondering how Mephy would fight beyond his 2015 animations. Well, personally, I picture him relying heavily on his shears and bombs rather than the BEAMS and minion-making typical of other Casters; perhaps he could form rudimentary constructs (big fist, big wall, whip, grappling hook, etc.) with his little exploding spiders. Throw in some light illusions and flashy flames and you'd have a pretty dynamic moves to watch.
• He could also use these spiders for reconnaissance (listening devices, surveillance, booby traps, etc.).
• Perhaps, he could have a variety of different types of bombs (poison, incendiary, confetti, etc.).
• Also, given his obsession with being viewed as a demon, it'd be keen if he had a Vlad/Dracula-esque transformation if prompted/empowered by a Command Seal; he gets bigger, stronger, faster, tougher, uglier, and more magical (like a wizard clown hulk), and his costume ceases to be JUST a costume. He'd often try to egg Kadoc into "releasing" the true power of his Innocent Monster Skill this way, but Kadoc's pretty sure that he'd need at least two Command Seals to rein Mephistopheles in after the fact.

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"Kadoc-senpai...are we the baddies?"

Commentary:

• Kadoc tries to be a good senpai with mixed results.
• Septem (as the previous comic about it showed) is a big turning point for Mephistopheles that makes him quasi-loyal to Kadoc. While it's one of the least popular Singularities. Mephistopheles has an utter ball killing all them emperors with Attila/Altera as the cherry on top. If Chaldea's quest lets him assassinate history/myth's best and brightest, why not stick around to see who else he can blow up? And now you're telling him that the big baddie is King Solomon? He's going to get to cut up King Solomon!? HOORAY! Baby Revenge!
• He is, however, rather jealous that the gang got to kill King Arthur during Fuyuki before he was summoned, which London and the Camelot/Jerusalem Singularities fix quite nicely.

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Kara no Kadoc: Garden of Snickers

Commentary:

• Kadoc and Mephy in the KnK was something I wanted to do way after I was done with their section of P1 Crypters. It seemed like such an obvious place to put the two since it contains the biggest role Mephistopheles has had in FGO so far, but I just didn’t have any jokes for it, and by the time I got them, I was busy doing other things. I was also afraid of not being able to top what I thought was the perfect final punchline to their escapades, but this gag and some others following it just wouldn’t leave me alone. So look forward to a little more Kadoc & Caster content before we move on to Ophelia!
• The Last Temptation of Good Mephy is based on a dark, but hilariously specific ordeal that Rusty Venture (from The Venture Bros) had to go through when he was a child courtesy of the Action Man (not that one).
• The Event differs slightly from the original one in that after the aforementioned Not todaaaaaaaaaay, Good Mephy warns the team about what’s happening in the KnK Event/Singularity, including that an “evil” version of him is running amok there. Kadoc, for reasons that will be explained in the next comic, doesn’t believe him about that last thing. Until he’s forced to.
• This strip was originally only about half as long and just had Shiki killing Bad Mephy #1 with Mash expressing wonderment that Good Mephy was telling the truth and so forth, but I wanted to highlight Kadoc’s potential as a tactician with the first half; he might not believe that Evil Mephy exists (or rather, another Mephy does), but he can create a plan to deal with him and his traps if the situation calls for it.
• And I’d like to think that the brief moment he gets to be cool makes the punchline just a bit funnier as he’s brought down back to Earth.

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FU Gospel

Commentary:

• A pure evil guy that always lies? Dangerous, but predictable. A mostly/semi-evil guy that sometimes lies? About as dangerous, but way less predictable.
• The KnK Event pretty much proceeds as it does in the original game apart from Kadoc constantly denying that “Good” Mephy is a thing (Fujimaru and Mash just roll with it, as you can see) until he can’t deny it. Now he can’t even depend on Mephistopheles to be completely vile. Them’s the brakes.
• Shiki also gives Kadoc the insulting nickname of “Powder” because she doesn’t think his real name is, well, real. He’s a bit annoyed that Fujimaru doesn’t get a stupid nickname as well.
• This KnK comic actually was created first and was originally going to be the only KnK P1 Crypter comic until I came up with ideas for the first one.

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Anachronistic Anarchy

Commentary:

• This could've worked for regular universe Mephy (and this is how I imagine Goetia recruiting him played out), but I'd like to think that his desperate lopsided grin in panel 3 helps elevate this comic ever so slightly.
• Did you know that the KnK movies are shown in non-chronological order? See? I can do it, too! If you're interested, the sequential viewing order is 2, 4, 3, 1, 5, 6, and 7.
• Why didn't Goetia see this coming? Clairvoyance is of dubious use in the world of KnK where even the future can be brutally murdered.

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Commentary:

• So we've had some leaks from the 8th Fate/Grand Order Material book that revealed various data about the Crypters including their nationalities. Of additional interest is a slight retcon to Daybit's height. As you can see in the first panel, he was originally about Kadoc's height, but the Material book lists him as being several centimetres taller instead.
• I didn't think Kadoc would be Polish. In all honestly, I thought he was going to be Russian. That was a surprise. Although it adds a bit of historical heft to his relationship with Anastasia and the First Lostbelt.
• Kadoc's name, non-Polish as it might sound, has been pointed out to me by Xaren_the_Lurker as potentially being an offshoot of the actual polish word "Kaduk" which means either devil or stray. This might just be a coincidence, but if it's not intentional, it's a cool coincidence nonetheless (especially given how he's Mephy's Master in this series).
• For Kadoc's panel, I could've either gone with a Polandball joke or a (tweaked) Goldmember reference. No regrets.
• Yu/Hinako's uncertainty reflects my own. Do you consider her Chinese or something else?
• Pepe's line is lifted directly from fellow India enthusiast Helena's in-game My Room dialogue: "To me, India is my second homeland. No, it’s the home of my soul! I hope we can be friends!"
• Daybit's panel is based on a bizarre fan meme of him doing sick kickflips in the South American Lostbelt, 90s Xtreme Sports movies like "Airborne", and what is perhaps Krunkilde's greatest SFM video ever, "NIGHT OF THE PIZZA BEAR!" Which is absolutely hilarious even if you've never played TF2 or a Five Nights at Freddy's game. Give it a watch!

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"Don't drop the soap, Master! Ahaha. That was a joke...a prison this awful probably doesn't have any."

Commentary:

• Fun Fact-While Envy is one of the Seven Deadly Sins, it does not have a corresponding "circle" in Dante's Inferno; which the Prison Tower Event doesn't adhere to so much as obliquely reference with Edmond's name.
• I had a hard time finding a way to end this comic with Mephistopheles suddenly coming out of nowhere while also providing a good punchline. But then I remembered...the nutshot. Or at least, the fear of.
• I wanted Kadoc's moans to be both unbearably petty and self-conscious. He's sufficiently bitter to resent someone who's done nothing but help and respect him, but he's self-aware enough to recognise how trifling his reasons for doing so are. As he's been living in Chaldea which has a slightly better support system than the godforsaken, frigid expanse of the Russian Lostbelt, he never descends into the desperate egotism of his Part 2 self. However, he's nonetheless too callow to get himself out of the mental hole he's in. Maybe throwing an evil clown into said hole will motivate him to at least try to climb out. Maybe.
• In the past, I said in a future chapter of P1 Crypters (bear with me) that Kadoc's Prison Tower cutscene would be brief, but I thought of a way to expand upon it in a way that could grow his character a bit while also managing to be entertaining. So stay tuned for more "Goons in Prison".

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"There's also the fact that Fujimaru got cursed instead of you, but let's put that aside for now."

Commentary:

• It's a pep talk, but only sorta.
• Mephy was originally going to subvert expectations and hoist Kadoc up, but then I thought...nah.
• In this battle, Mephy would not only get boosts from Kadoc's Spells but he'd also have a unique Skill for the fight called Sin of Envy (Clown) which inflicts the unique Bomb status to all enemies for 3 turns (Chance to inflict random debuffs every turn that ignores their debuff resistance; Bomb is dispelled once activated).
• For the rerun's Challenge Quest, Meph would gain an additional "Detonate" Skill which activates the Bomb debuffs whenever he (or the RNG) wants.

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"I got envy issues too, y'know. Everyone's always Belphegor this and Alastor that. But what about me? What about the Mephster!?"

Commentary:

• You might find it strange that I've relegated this important character development to an Event that some players might never experience (never mind that Kadoc might not remember this too well), but...well...Beast III.
• It's kind of an honor to be the first boss. TV shows and games usually lavish a lot of time and effort into the first fight and last fights to make them as excellent as possible. There's no telling how much budget goes to the foes stuck in the middle. Aces wild.
• Now you know where all the jokes from the second part went.
• I don't have the "Servant returns to Throne" particle effects, so I hope that the ones I use in this comic still cause "Bonds" to play in your heads.
• I'm not the only one who finds Dantès' second Ascension kind of amusing, am I?

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"Phew. For a second there, I was afraid she was going to throw it instead."

Commentary:

• Mash, just think of it as practice for...never mind.
• I was going to name the combo move "Siege (Super) Perilous" but then I remembered that the gang wouldn't have enough clues to piece together Galahad's identity here just yet.
• No worries, Karna fans. This doesn't kill him. It just sends him flying over the horizon like before. Except it's in a much less patronising fashion. Go team!
• As you've likely observed multiple times in FGO's story, Servant ability combos are pretty cool. I wish they'd let us do them in-game though.
• Like so: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aNOC80QlzFo

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Nero: This place isn't Yankee Stadium, but it'll do.

Commentary:

• There are a lot of lovely anachronisms in this comic thanks to the American Singularity taking place in the 1700s. Chief of which is the fact that The Star-Spangled Banner didn't become the official American National Anthem until 1931 although the lyrics had been around since 1812.
• Said lyrics were eventually put to the music of To Anacreon in Heaven, a popular...British...song. Edison would be proud.
• Geronimo is referring to his infamous and tragic final tumultuous year as a free man before he surrendered to the United States Army in 1886. Make of that what you will.
• Nero's sole remaining line of non-singing dialogue is largely cribbed from Mark Antony's opening spiel during William Shakespeare's Julius Caesar.
• I've really wanted to make a P1 Crypter strip that incorporated Kadoc's love of rock music into it in an organic fashion. Using Nero for that in Septem was the original plan, but I just couldn't get it to work on paper. Then a week or so back when I was writing the script for Kadoc and Mephy's American Mash missile misadventure, I remembered that Nero was in America, and suddenly I was able to concoct an excuse for her to sing. The results a mostly simple joke (sadly, my image editor kept crashing due to all the layers and effects) which is capped with a rare display of Kadoc and his Caster getting along.
• Tom Waits is Tom Waits. And he is an amazing musician. He was also, as you know, in the Mystery Men movie. And if you don't know what Mystery Men is, then you best rectify that right now. In their pursuit of creating superhero parody, the film's creators ended up creating superhero perfection as well. Now where was I? Oh, yeah. Tom Waits. He's fantastic.

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"True, the resulting hangover will probably split his head clean open. But that's what staples are for!"

Commentary:

• This strip might never had existed if I hadn't learned that Kadoc was Polish. So he gets a joke about that which doesn't involve Mike Myers this time.
• Also, this comic was partially inspired by all the vodka jokes from the Nationality Reveal comic a couple of weeks ago.
• Sounds simple enough, but this chapter went through a lot of revisions. At one point, it was going to be a "The Hangover" kind of deal where Kadoc wakes up in Onigashima with no memory of what happened with Mephy revealing to him that he basically blacked out during Rashomon and had been in a magical stupor until the following Event. Another had him waking up with Kotarou and Kintoki (who he doesn't recognise) standing over him in Onigashima. They appraise him of the situation with Kintoki reminding him that they'd met before back in Rashomon. Kadoc wonders why he's suddenly fine only for Kintoki to reveal that's because "the Mephster" (who went on ahead with the others) found a way to detoxify him. Kadoc notices a bulge under his shirt, lifts it up and finds that his torso has a giant Ticking-kun (see London 2) sucking out the booze from his gut. Kadoc freaks. Kotarou is fascinated by Ticking-kun's utility. Kadoc tells him that Ticking-kun is also a bomb which is now latched onto his body and is filling itself with flammable liquid. This makes Kotarou doubly fascinated. Anyway, those proved way too complicated and are better suited for a regular comic format.
• In-game, depending on the P1 Crypter, the player would have some kind of buff or other benefit in battle. Kadoc's is unique in that it would reduce Ibaraki's max hp in the following raid.
• The Lord Chaldeas Sigil was cobbled together from two assets from Fate Extella Link that I colorised purple.
• Kadoc's 18 at least. That sounds about right I think.
• For what it's worth, Mash and Fujimaru were completely against this. But DrunKadoc's tactics were just so good and they'd never seen him that happy before so...
• Please don't say Bzdura in public.

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"I don't need to run faster than my kouhai. I just need to run faster than you."

Commentary:

• Camelot's a pretty low point for Kadoc & Mephy. They've struggled to matter throughout the various Singularities and Events with mixed success, and if they couldn't they've otherwise tried to have a good time (well, Mephistopheles does anyway) but it's just so humongous compared to everything they've been through what with the Hassans, Ozy, the Lion King, etc that they kind of get lost in it and are just kind of along for the ride.
• This is encapsulated late in its first act, the team tries to prematurely blow up the walls of Camelot with a bomb Mephy crafted with Da Vinci and Kadoc. It fails to even scratch it.
• Mephistopheles initially has a blast seeing the legendary good guy Knights of the Round Table committing slaughters for their king. Actually meeting Rushd creates mixed feelings in Meph given how he delights in the lie the protagonists are telling the boy, but the kid himself is completely unafraid of him and takes his clown guise at face value (it helps that Mephy kind of helped rescue him). Blind trust with no reservations (even Fujimaru and Mash are wary of him) is something he hasn't experienced for a long time so that's odd.
• Bedivere's valor helps restore a bit of their wounded egos, showing that one man can make a difference. For better or worse.