To the Undying

...And it still isn't enough.

Indeed, there is still something missing.

As you wish...my beloved emperor.

A huge fortress city? One that shouldn't be possible in this time?

Looks that way.

Hmm, the footage from Sheba is a little blurry. Am I the only Servant who's compatible for this Rayshift?

No, luckily, there was one more. So it'll be you, Master, and

Me.

Oho, a samurai from Japan. Glad to be working with you.

It will be my honor, Emperor Kōnstantînos.

At the end of the day, I am little more than a walking oni-killing blade. Feel free to use me as you see fit.

Hahaha, how deceptively modest of you. Anyway, this makes three of us, including Master.

I can work with that.

Great. Good luck, guys! We're all counting on you!

This is

？！

The world where another version of me did battle with you and Chaldea...

Hm. The place appears to be deserted. I don't see anything living in the area, nor can I hear so much as a sound.

I suppose our only choice is to keep investigating.

Hold on. Not so fast. Da Vinci, do you read us?

Sure do. Our connection's solid!

Is this the only place you think is responsible for the Singularity?

Or have any of the other realms from that Singularity also been recreated?

No need to worry. We've already checked that. This looks to be the only one here.

Also, like Tsuna said, we're not seeing any signs of life.

Hmm... I guess that's all we really know at this point.

Then we'll just have to continue the investigation.

Understood.

Then let's continue. I just hope we actually find something...

This search is proving less fruitful than I had anticipated.

... ...Master. Lord Watanabe. May I say something?

Hm?

We've been searching aimlessly for some time now. Do you remember the ruined building we saw earlier?

？！

Yes. It had collapsed entirely.

Well, I believe that building there, the one that's fully intact, is the same one.

... ...Are you serious?

？！

What do you make of this, Da Vinci? Can you give us an analysis of this place?

Y-you're right. I'm looking into it and that building WAS rubble until just a moment ago.

What could this mean?

I can understand a formerly intact building suddenly reduced to rubble...

...but the reverse is altogether more puzzling.

Could it have been restored by magecraft? I believe there are spells like that.

True, that's one of the most basic spells around.

I can't imagine something like this happening without magecraft, and you guys would almost certainly have noticed.

Indeed. We may not be Casters, but

My Magic Resistance would let me know if there had been any substantial magical energy activity nearby.

But I sensed nothing of the kind.

I see. Then the building must have been reconstituted by some other means.

And since such a feat would be physically impossible, the only possible explanation is...a miracle from a Holy Grail.

Indeed.

However, it also doesn't seem as though someone made a wish to a Grail to repair that building.

I feel like we're missing something...

Master. Emperor Kōnstantînos.

Huh!?

？！

What!? Where'd they come from!? There were no hostile signals until just this instant!

What kind of enemy are you up against!? Demonic Beasts? Servants!?

...Neither, it looks like. Do you think you can still cut down these strange enemies, Tsuna!?

Of course!

There. I've dealt with them.

So you did... I suppose I shouldn't find that surprising, but...

...I still can't believe you could just...cut them like that.

？！

Well, they were cuttable.

I-I see, I suppose that's good then.

I don't see any more enemies nearby, but I think we should move regardless.

Besides, there's something I want to look into.

All right, these buildings have fallen apart, too. Now, let's wait here a bit and see if something happens.

？！

Ah yes, there was a faint rumbling just now. ...Hm?

And just like that, they're all back to normal... Lord Watanabe?

Allow me.

It's a completely ordinary stone wall. You can cut it, as I've just demonstrated, and the damage remains just as you would expect.

And this may go without saying, but I sense no living creatures inside, nor was there any unusual resistance.

Now, let's see...

I knew it. It just reconstructed itself. And now...

There they are. Just as I expected. There are a lot more of them this time, though... Let's fall back for now!

I believe we've lost them. They're persistent, but hardly all-powerful.

Master, Emperor Kōnstantînos, the defense mechanisms have abandoned their pursuit and returned to their posts.

Good. We still need to be careful, but this should give us some breathing room.

Firstly, it seems safe to say the city itself is the source of the Singularity.

The fact that its destroyed buildings reconstruct themselves is unusual enough, but then there are those defense mechanisms.

Yeah. You might've seen things like that in Greece back in the Age of Gods. Normally, they'd be impossible to create with the technology of this era, though.

Indeed. And that's not all.

Those mechanisms appeared in response to Lord Watanabe damaging a wall.

A completely ordinary wall.

It did not seem as though anyone was monitoring it, either.

I agree.

Which means whoever rules this city is aware of everything that takes place in this Singularity by some means other than sight.

They are attentive enough to fix even the smallest flaws and have clearly been proactive about sending out patrols to deal with would-be vandals.

Hmm. They would seem to be a very good ruler, but for maintaining a Singularity.

The question is, where could this ruler be?

There don't seem to have been any clues so far.

Well, at times like this, it is best to take the simple approach, Master.

？！

In general, a city's ruler can be found in one particular place.

At the city's center, there is a castle. Is that not the only place which makes sense?

Good point. It would only be natural for a city's ruler to reside in its most eye-catching building.

That just leaves the question of how to infiltrate the castle.

No need to complicate matters for ourselves. We have two clear choices.

We either sneak in undetected or smash our way through the front gate.

Master, I believe I can safely speak for Lord Watanabe when I say we can handle either approach.

Which way would you prefer?

？！

Understood.

All right, so far so good. We've made it this far without the need for combat.

Though I do feel bad about leaving Lord Watanabe to handle a separate unit on his own.

？！

Indeed. Let's go!

Understood.

There are the defense mechanisms, just as we expected! Now to charge straight through them!

Stay close to us, Master!

I barred the door behind us, but it won't keep them out for long. We need to move fast.

Right. Let's finish this!

Be careful! That's a Serno, wait.

It looks like a Shadow Servant, or something close to it.

You should be able to defeat them, but keep your guard up!

Of course! Leave it to me, Da Vinci!

A true emperor is never careless. He always steps onto the field in all his splendor and arrogance!

Hahahahaha, this is getting exciting! Let's go, Master!

？！

All right, king of this hollow city. It's time for you to step down from your throne, once and for all!

You...

Hm?

You're...the one who...

？！

S-so I see. I await your orders, Master!

We won, but...was that...me?

？！

While the enemy was quite similar to your Spirit Origin pattern, Kōnstantînos...

...his parameters were significantly lower than yours.

But it was still me. Which must mean

Khh! A trap! Dammit!

Get away from me, Master! Tsuna, keep him safe!

？！

Oh good. I finally found you.

...!

This is...

Yes. This is your city, my emperor.

Who are you!? Show yourself!

This is your dream. Your final destination. Everlasting rule. Eternal prosperity.

Is that not the wish you made upon the Holy Grail?

...!

This is Constantinople, your city, the city in which you lived, the city you loved above all else.

My...city...

Ahh, another wonderful day! Praise be to our emperor!

Come, everyone. Let us give thanks to our god, and to our divine leader!

Come on, Emperor! Play with us!

... ...Aha. Now I see.

Of course.

...I see. Yes. You're right.

... ...

... ...

...But, that can never happen.

...!

Master! You can hear me, yes!?

？！

Forgive the intrusion, Emperor Kōnstantînos.

You... How dare you interfere!?

It's true, I did dream of this once. My beloved people... My beloved nation...

And you. Once, I would have loved nothing more than to see you rebuilt.

It would be hard to deny that I have a far simpler desire than this city coming to a peaceful end.

But...I also understand all too well how that fleeting dream can never be.

I am an emperor. My job is to lead people where they need to go. I would be a fraud if I allowed myself to so easily be led astray by frail dreams.

...!

Emperor Kōnstantînos.

It seems clear we have found our enemy, but it also seems, um, she(?) has strong ties to you personally.

Who is she?

Her name is Constantinople. She is the city itself.

？！

A Heroic Spirit of an entire city... No, wait. She hasn't reached full Heroic Spirit status.

We've seen cases like Tenochtitlan but this is still a strange and rare phenomenon!

Now I see. That's how the wall earlier was able to repair itself.

Yes. This city is itself a living organism. We are standing inside it even now.

She didn't detect us until the moment we broke one of her walls...

...because breaking it caused her pain.

Anyone would notice an intruder if that intrusion physically hurt them. It also explains how she repaired them so quickly.

...Why?

...This city is wrong. You were mistaken from the beginning.

Cities come into being when people come together. But you didn't attract these people naturally. You abducted them.

They already had their own lives, their own homes, which you had no right to take them from.

A city of unwilling citizens is no city at all. It's a spacious prison.

Cities are born from the will of their people.

That's why you are mistaken, Constantinople.

...I don't care.

I don't care, I don't care, I don't care! This time... This time, I'm going to make this citymyselfthe way I should be!

I'll be more beautiful, more prosperous, and more durable than I ever was before!

Please, join me, my emperor. For me, for your city.

...As much as it pains me, my beloved city...

...I can't do that.

...Let's go!

...Why?

I thought this was what you wanted. I thought this was what you wished for.

So why... Why... Why...?

...I abandoned that wish a long time ago. That's all there is to it.

...Liar.

That did it! The Singularity's all repaired now. Just give me a sec, and I'll get you guys home!

What should we do about these people?

It's all right. They're not dead, and they should regain consciousness soon.

Once they do, they'll go back to their original towns on their own. Back to where they truly belong...

All right, Master, I believe our job is done here. Shall we return to the Storm Border?

... ...

？！

Oh, hello, Master.

What can I do for you? If you need help with the report, I'd be glad to assist.

？！

Oh?

？！

Hahaha. ...Saw right through me, did you?

Yes, I suppose I was.

That city was everything I'd ever dreamed of.

All those people happily going about their peaceful lives...

How could that ever be a bad thing?

I wanted to reach out and grab hold of it. I wanted to lose myself in that dream.

Even though I knew the wish was wrong...and that it was horribly twisted in how it was granted.

Of course, I also knew that city would soon fall to ruin. I could almost see its future unfolding before my eyes.

But...seeing everything I'd lost right before my eyes, I couldn't even consider such a future.

If not for you, Master, I may well have stayed there.

My connection to you was the only thing helping me cling to my sanity and even then, it was a near thing.

In spite of...all of that, she was still trying to grant my wish.

Even if doing so was clearly a mistake.

...My apologies. I realize I'm a touch overcome just now.

？！

Hm?

...Wine?

？！

Hahaha, even though you're still not of drinking age? Still...I appreciate this.

...To my beloved city, Constantinople.

Of course I am. Don't worry.

I'm used to these sorts of things.