Return

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Oh, good. You're still here, Mash.

You've completely disappeared. This, Mash, is your death.

Even still, your will persists in this void. There are yet many things you need to do.

That's why I'm not saying, "Well done." Instead, I will say, "Goodbye."

...

We don't have much time, so I'll be brief: I am going to bring you back to life.

I am the embodiment of comparison.

I am the Beast that feeds on the energies that come from humans who grow and compete, who envy others' strength, who regret their own weakness. I am the Beast who stands over any and all opponents.

I am Cath Palug, a Beast of Disaster. In a different world, I was called "Primate Murder."

As long as I stay away from human society, I'm just a harmless animal. That's why I remained on a remote island.

But the mage who was taking care of me was a real bastard.

He kicked me out of his warm, snug tower, and forced me to live outside.

...But, that is how I ended up in Chaldea... which is where I met you and Fujimaru.

You... are...

I hope you don't mind me interfering like this.

Then again, the mage always said that an act of goodwill was something forced onto someone... Let's just go with that.

Over the last few centuries, I've accumulated incredible amounts of magical energy. Using that, I'll perform a miracle that even True Magic could never achieve.

...Although, I suppose death in the Temple of Time doesn't quite count in reality.

What I'm going to do is transfer my future to you. It will be powerful enough to extend your life past the three days you have left.

However, I'm not fully grown. So, the time I can give you will only amount to an average human lifespan.

Once I've done this, I will just be an ordinary beast. I will lose my intellect, my personality.

Up till now, I've been chiming into your conversations meaningfully, but from here on, all I'll be able to do is make animal noises.

But, I don't want you to worry about that. Nothing will change for you guys.

Still... It is a bit of a lonely way to go out. That's why I wanted to at least say goodbye here at the end.

Goodbye, Mash Kyrielight. My time with all of you, this journey, has been truly wonderful.

Normally, around people, I transform into a hideous beast, but this time I was able to stay in this form until the very end.

Wait... Fou... Fou!

...When the mage sent me out, he told me, "Go, experience all the beauty the world has to offer."

And, well... I have seen truly beautiful things.

There are some evils that can be defeated without shedding blood, or crossing blades. And... that is what has made this possible.

Congratulations to you, the wonderful people of Chaldea. You have defeated Beast IV without so much as a single blow.

Fou...? Kyuu... Kyuu?

Fou! Fou... fou!

？！

Senpai!

？！

Fou, foou!

Yes, good morning, Master! I made it!

Senpai, I'm glad you've returned safely, too. The Coffin didn't stabilize for about an hour.

I was so worried that you'd failed to transport back from the Singularity.

Well... I really don't know myself. When I came to, I was standing right at the Rayshift coordinates.

I think I remember someone with a warm, kind voice sending me there, but I'm not sure.

I woke up to Fou's voice, and then I saw you running towards the Rayshift coordinates right in front of me.

And something told me to reach my hand out to take yours... Fou, do you know anything?

Fou, fou?

？！

Hey you two, that's enough PDA for now☆ You're embarrassing the staff.

？！

Yes! The universal genius, Da Vinci, in the flesh! Good morning, Fujimaru!

It took you almost an hour to wake up from your Rayshift, but your vitals all look fine now.

You do look to be suffering fatigue, overstressed Magical Circuits, and tooons of small wounds. But, hey, you made it back more or less in one piece!

Which means, I have the honor of saying this:

Congratulations on completing your mission, Master Fujimaru.

With your safe return and awakening, I am pleased to declare our final Grand Order complete!

Ribbons and confetti raining down... It's like a ticker-tape parade!

Yeah, the staff and I prepared it for this exact moment. There's only a handful of us here, so it was never going to be thunderous applause or anything.

Buuut, we wanted to at least make it look like a celebration. So? What do you think, Fujimaru?

？！

Everyone... thank you... so very much.

It was only because of your hard work keeping Chaldea safe and in place that Senpai and I were able to return.

This victory belongs to the entire staff of Chaldea. Everyone here made this happen.

You're right. While Fujimaru was asleep, Chaldea safely returned to normal space.

About sixty percent of the facility was destroyed, but we can fix all that later.

Lev Lainur's assault at the beginning of our Grand Order claimed the lives of two hundred of Chaldea's staff.

47 Masters are still frozen in the preservation chambers.

...And one of our people did not return from the Final Singularity.

Each of those lost is someone who cannot ever be replaced.

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...

Urg... I, of all people, worded that wrong.

Let's leave the gloomy stuff for later.

The Masters who are frozen will probably be revived after we get reinforcements from the outside...

...and Chaldea will return to normal. What's important is what lies ahead, Fujimaru.

？！

Right. While you were out, we resumed communication with the outside. Everything is in chaos right now.

After all, people are missing an entire year's worth of memories! Goetia has vanished and the Incineration of Humanity has been prevented.

But that doesn't mean the last year didn't happen.

For everyone outside Chaldea, it's as if they woke up today, and an entire year had passed while they slept!

The Mage's Association is sending envoys here immediately.

There's no doubt all intelligent life-forms ceased activity for the past year. Report immediately on why and how, they said.

A huge group's coming tomorrow, so Chaldea's going to get a bit crowded.

So... they're coming to investigate us.

Um, Da Vinci. What will happen to the Servants...?

Oh, they all left already. The threat to humanity has passed, so there was no point in them lingering here.

The only ones left are the oddballs like me who've been here since before the Grand Order was issued,

or the really benevolent Servants who just can't bear to leave you, Fujimaru.

Of course, I have everyone's Spirit Origin patterns stored, so if there's any need to Rayshift again, you can form a contract like before.

？！

No, that would be so sad... so lonely. ...Oh! But, Rayshifting is, um...

Yeah, we can't do it freely like we have been. Rayshifting was only allowed under the United Nations and the Mage's Association's permission.

Now that everything's back to normal, there's a solid chance that Rayshifting itself may be prohibited entirely...

Well, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it! If there are any concessions or liability issues and we get into hot water, I'll take care of it!

Fou!

Now, that's about it for Chaldea's current situation.

I'm sure there's a lot on your mind, but there's something else that takes top priority.

Fujimaru, Mash, the two of you need to set this contraption at these coordinates.

It's not even a kilometer away. Shouldn't be more than a twenty-minute trip.

Luckily, today is the one and only day out of the year it may happen. There's no way you can miss this.

Now, hurry and get going. Go see for yourselves what you two have reclaimed.

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Okay! Mission received! Let's go, Senpai!

Fou, fooou!

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So... this is the real sky. The Earth of our own time.

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...The Doctor. The Doctor told me once...

He told me it's always snowing outside Chaldea, but once in a while the skies clear, and you can see the lovely stars.

He also said that one day, the time would come when I would get to see them for myself. He had no proof, but laughed when he told me.

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...Yes. I am so grateful to be alive right now, at this very moment.

I was able to see this sky thanks to the help and support of so, so many people.

...It was a whirlwind of a year. This Order happened on such a terrifying scale. ...Still, it has been a truly incredible experience.

...What about you, Senpai?

Come to think of it, you applied to Chaldea on a whim, were accepted, and were hired as a lower-tier Master.

And... even before you learned what your job really was, you were pulled into this conflict, and somehow persevered through all of it...

What did the journey of the Grand Order mean to you, Senpai...?

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...!

Yes! I'm glad you feel that way, too!

So rest assured, my Master! I shall follow you to the very end!

Because our journey will still continue. And to start, we'll go beyond the horizon ahead!

Once we've done that, we'll go further and further beyond. That is ouror rather, human nature's"order."

All that worrying and lamenting about the future... It was because we had hope. That's why I'm sure there are many more adventures lying ahead of us.

Now, let's go, Master.

Let's go toward that new year you saved for us all... where the unknown awaits us!