Women of Agartha

Aaahhh! W-we're flying... We're actually flying!

H-how is this happening!?

I had forgotten they were still here. This is bad! They're starting to panic!

Umm... Hey! I've got a job for you guys!

...Huh?

Real simple: get outta here! Find as many of the men imprisoned here as you can, and round 'em all up.

Once you've done that, I want you to meet us back by the boats we used to get here.

Oh, and don't worry 'bout the Amazons! They should be busy zoning out like zombies. You could even steal their horses if you wanted!

Now go on, hurry it up!

O-okay... We're on it!

...Well done. That was an excellent idea, giving them a job so they wouldn't have time to panic.

Heh heh! People are always telling me I'm the sort who comes through when things get REAL bad!

Besides, we were gonna have to do something about the men still imprisoned here at some point anyway.

All the more so now that we literally have liftoff.

Indeed. Not to mention that this area is likely to become even more dangerous. It would certainly be best not to have ordinary humans close at hand.

Now then...

Now that our spectators have left for the time being, Ms. Scheherazade, allow me to ask you a question.

Where exactly do you intend to have this place plummet?

Nowhere in particular. Any heavily populated city will do.

Oh no...it's starting to shift horizontally, too!

It's definitely setting a course for somewhere!

Then we need to act, and quickly.

At least right now, we're still above the relatively uninhabited Nepalese mountains...but there's still got to be at least some people seeing this.

These last few minutes alone are going to be a nightmare for the Mage's Association of this time period to clean up.

And if that weren't enough, you're also going to drop this huge landmass on a heavily populated city?

This is a disaster. It would be a catastrophe like we've never seen before.

？！

I'm afraid it could be orders of magnitude greater than that. To make matters worse, the damage won't be limited to the physical realm.

We're still experiencing the aftereffects of the Goetia mess, so the world hasn't completely stabilized yet.

There's no telling what sort of chaos this could unleash!

That is exactly the point. There is a reason why I'm going to have a fictional city destroy a real one.

By doing so...I will destroy the concept of mystical secrets.

Wha...!?

Once Laputa plummets onto a real city...

...people everywhere will be forced to accept that a place of fiction is as real as the place it destroyed, and the people it killed.

Once that happens, it will change the world.

Everyone will know that mystical beings exist, and in consequence, everyone will attempt to learn their secrets for themselves.

Eventually, the mystical may become an ordinary part of everyone's lives.

Wait! If that actually happened, then...!

Indeed... Once Mystics become available to all, they will cease to be Mystics in the first place!

That is the future I wish to bring about.

A world where Mystics lose all substance and power, so the Servant Summoning System becomes obsolete.

Huh!?

Otherwise...I'll have to die again and again. I'll have to constantly live in fear of death.

I'll never be able to escape the insidiousness of knowing my death is assured whenever I am summoned.

...You would go so far, just to avoid death?

Can't you understand how I feel?

No, I can't. Your fear of death is far out of proportion for any living creature.

If it isn't death you fear, but the idea of yourself dying...then something has gone wrong in your life.

...Let me share now what I held back that night: our perspectives on death couldn't be more different.

I am a warrior. From the day I was born, I have been taught that to die is an honor.

The only aspect of death we fear is that we might die having violated our pride or geis, not death itself.

Death is inevitable for all living things. The path you take to death IS your life.

You should be fighting what led you to fear death to such a degree, not death itself.

...You surprise me, young Fergus. You are far more composed than warriors twice your age.

Your grown-up self must be a wise and kind warrior indeed.

Uh...

Uh...

？！

I'm right there with all of you, but now is not the time!

But...I am not that strong. I never was. For I am not a warrior.

I simply cannot help but wish to not die. That is all I think about. All I CAN think about.

I don't want to be strangled. I don't want to be cut. I don't want to be flogged.

I don't want to be burned. I don't want to be stabbed. I don't want to be starved. I don't want to be shot.

I don't want to be eaten. I don't want to be crushed. I don't want to be poisoned.

There are so many ways to die.

I don't want to die. I don't want to die, no matter what... That's all I've ever wanted!

...For me, stories were my lifeline.

A thin, flimsy lifeline, comprised solely of words I strung together reticently, uncertainly...

？！

That's right, Master. I know the story of the One Thousand and One Nights...the Arabian Nights as well.

In it, there was a king who was taking virgins as wives and killing them the next morning.

And you volunteered to go and stop him because it was the right thing to do. Didn't you?

...At first, yes.

But...do you know what it's like to spend night after night with a deranged king who no longer trusts women?

The fear that comes with never knowing if the next day will be your last?

He couldn't be reasoned with or bargained with. He would simply kill women for no reason at all.

I could have been killed merely because the wind blew. Or because it rained.

Anything could have set him off.

And of course...it was always possible that he would grow tired of my stories, and decide to kill me rather than wait to find out what happens next.

It was as though I lived with a poisonous insect who could kill me with but a single sting.

That is why, after some time, all I had left was the desire to not die.

That was all I had. I devoted my entire being towards fulfilling it.

Words. Expressions. Presence. Gaze. Servitude. Demeanor. Opinions. Changes. Worldview. Stories. Pleasure. Temperature. Uselessness. Usefulness. Submissiveness. Stimulation.

I gave up everything I had, all so I wouldn't have to die.

And at long last...after one thousand interminable nights, the king finally came to his senses...!

After all that, when I had lived my one and only life... I was forced to become a Heroic Spirit!

After I had been shaped and formed solely by my desire not to die, I went and became a being that is doomed to be repeatedly summoned and always disappear!

...Kings are both great in stature, and foolish in mind. Agartha itself has proven as much.

A single person attempting to lead a nation will inevitably end in discord.

Regardless of whether that discord leads to failure among its people, or failure in the nation itself...

I know now that the responsibility for either outcome falls on the king. From the outside, that king will appear foolish, or even tyrannical.

No matter how skilled a warrior they are, kings who cannot accept that foolishness will not stay king.

...My future self knows that well.

Nothing I can say to you could make up for the suffering you endured, spending a thousand nights with such a foolish king.

But I can say this:

I won't let you destroy the world simply because you don't want to die.

We Celtic warriors see the world as a battlefield of honor, and your story contains no hint of honor.

Yeah! Y'know, I don't really get what's goin' on right now...

But I do know I definitely don't want the Servant system going away.

That would mean I'd never get to visit any new places, or meet anyone new...

...or get to send anyone off with a word of encouragement ever again, right? That'd be awful!

I don't want to forget those tears.

I am a Knight of the White Lily, sworn to protect France. Indirect though it may be, I am proud that I can continue to fulfill my duty even in death.

If you wish to remove the means of fulfilling my duty, that makes you an enemy of France, and me.

？！

Well said, Master! If a landmass this size struck the earth, the damage would truly be cataclysmic.

We absolutely have to prevent that, no matter what.

...Fearing death, clinging to life, attempting to destroy everything... That much may be the same as the Demon God King's plan.

But she has nothing beyond that. She has no intention of remaking the planet, nor of starting over...

All she's doing is trying to destroy the world out of petty personal desire.

Again, she has nothing beyond that.

I don't know how much influence the Demon God Pillar has had on her... But this whole idea is twisted.

She's trying to commit suicide by destroying the world, all so that she'll never have to die again.

Don't misunderstand me. I would just as soon leave the world out of this if I could.

That one who summoned me told me that there was one Heroic Spirit who voluntarily disappeared from the Throne of his own accord.

How I envy him. Things would have been so much easier if only I could do that too...

？！

...

(Sigh) ... (You've got it completely backwards. You have no idea what a great and tragic feat it was for him to disappear from the Throne like that.)

(Whether it's potential they failed to live up to, or tasks they failed to complete, every great person has unfinished business of one kind or another.)

(Only those who have succeeded at leaving nothing at all behind can fully disappear from this universe.)

(His soul will never transmigrate. No one will ever tell his stories again. He'll never be needed by anyone for anything. He had no choice but to disappear into the void, and you ENVY him that.)

You don't need to say anything, Master. I feel the same way.

She has no idea the fury she's just incited in all of us.

...Come on. Let's show her just how wrongheaded her envy is.

？！

All I want...is to not die. Nothing more.

So why...why are you trying to subject me to that again? How could you be so cruel?

Very well then. I suppose I have to fight, if I don't want to die...

I doubt you'll let me go no matter how beautiful a dogeza I present.

...I have nothing against you, Fujimaru. If anything, I envy you too.

Out of everyone here, you are the only one...

...who will never have to die again once you are dead!

Of course. After all, I don't want to die.

Grrr, this is weirdly harder than it should be. Something's not right...

It's not technique or experience... It's more like...she just squirms away whenever it feels like I've got a clear shot!

Is that so? I haven't noticed anything like that.

I feel the same as Astolfo.

I still can't use my sword against her, but I should at least be able to hold her in place.

And yet, she always manages to slip away at the last moment. What's going on?

Allow me to tell you one of my traits. Now that I am a Servant, no king can kill me.

After all, the reason I became a Heroic Spirit is because I avoided death at a king's hands.

Although, strictly speaking, it's only a skill that lets me move around in order to keep kings at bay.

Aww crap, are you serious? I guess since I'm a prince, it technically affects me, too.

？！

Master, this skill is making it easy for her to stall for time!

Laputa's huge landmass has been slowly but surely moving this whole time!

It's clear that this Singularity took shape by combining with your Noble Phantasm.

But what sort of magical energy could you possibly put together to make that work? How in the world did you manage the resources? The design?

...He's the one who told me how it would work.

I was to summon Servants to an enclosed underground world, and have them fight one another.

Such an environment would naturally lead to conflict. The more twisted, the better.

So I decided to use a conquistador with unabashedly twisted desires as the base of its design.

As Columbus said...Agartha was indeed the sort of world he had long wished for.

But he could not have guessed that the patron who granted that wish had even more deplorable motives.

It doesn't matter how it was all designed. The main goal was getting Servants to fight. Which means...

Conflict between Servants would lead to a vortex of magical energy. On top of that...

The enclosed nature of the underground Singularity enabled it to trap the vanquished Servants' souls...

...and continuously exploit the energy generated as they attempted to return to the Throne.

That was the goal. It would then use that abundant energy to slowly make my story into reality.

Hmm. That sounds rather like having a horse turn a cogwheel by dangling a carrot before its nose.

...He also told me that this could be considered a kind of Holy Grail War.

？！

A Holy Grail War that exists only as a twisted story, where no one attempts to seek the Grail.

But before I knew it, the Holy Grail had already materialized in the form of a story come to life.

Look out, Master! I think she's still just trying to stall for time.

If Laputa drops onto a major city, she'll have won! Please, hurry!

Okay then! Time to bust out the clichés about how I've been holding back this whole time!

I have fought alongside all of you, and I know how strong you are. You are indeed powerful enough to kill me if I let down my guard.

So from here on... I leave it to you, Phenex.

...!

Phenex/I am. I am truth/reunion/one of the seventy-two Demon God Pillars.

It's the Demon God Pillar! Please be careful!

Phenex! The Demon God of death and rebirth, thought to be identical to the phoenix known in the West.

His number is thirty-sevenhis rank, marquis. It's said that his every word is a natural poem.

I see. That explains his unusual manner of speech. As to the quality of his poetry...I shall refrain from voicing my opinions.

I would love to have Watson offer his opinion on it. Not that he is a poet himself, of course.

But perhaps hearing what passes for poetry from this creature would inspire him to try his hand at it.

...I finally understand why I wasn't able to see the Demon God lurking behind Scheherazade before.

A number of his values are inverted. In other words...numerically speaking, he's already dead.

Now I see. We never saw him, because we never looked for something that was dead.

This may only be a trick unique to the Demon God of death and rebirth...

But we probably shouldn't count on future Demon God Pillars being easily detectable either.

The reason I am here/is to prove my friendship. To accept Scheherazade/for who she is.

Life and death/unavoidable/self-purpose/unavoidable life and death! Simple death→no rebirth. Only acquired by melding with me.

Her wish, her dream/not to die/not to live! Found it, I found it! Answer! The answer!

？！

You actually understand what this Demon God is saying, Master?

？！

That's amazing. No wonder you're the Master. I didn't have the faintest idea.

I may not know what he is saying, but I do know what he is attempting.

Yup. Now that he's not hiding anymore, he's gonna try and do us in personally!

Let's do this, Master! Let's show him how he's no different from any of the other thousands of pillars we've whupped before!

Our target is Phenex, the thirty-seventh Demon God Pillar. Please destroy him, Master!

Ghh...!

Fergus!

But, I'm not the only one...!

Sorrow/doubt/are we evil? No, no no, we are nature.

As such, we must be one mind, one body/Scheherazade=Phenex!

Our wish/not to die while alive. Our fate/to be reborn once dead.

Compulsion/our existence/contradiction. Our wish, never to be granted!

We are both slaves to our wish!

But, if/all living things/wish not to die... If we live forever/without being stripped of that...

That is not a wish. It is a curse.

We cannot help...but want...to break it... Aah, aaahhh!

Did... Uh, did we get him?

The Demon God Pillar's signal is gone, but...

Huh!? Master, I'm picking up a faint Servant reading nearby! Please be careful!

Scheherazade!

...Okay, well...she's almost dead.

Phenex... You were the only one to ever understand me.

But... Hehe... Hehehehe.

!?

Nothing has changed. The ending has already been written. After all, Laputa has already materialized!

Even if the Demon God vanishes, or I die... It will still plummet to earth! Not a story, but reality!

Parts of it may be damaged, but that doesn't matter. It should retain its form until impact.

There is nothing anyone can do to stop it! This is the final chapter for all of you...and for me! At last, my wish will come true!

Hehe, hehehehe!

Ghh... It looks like this is it. But...if I just disappeared now, I truly would be pathetic.

Hup! Hnghhh...!

Fergus, your wound is too deep! Stay down!

No...it's okay. Young and weak as I am, I knew there was no way to escape grievous injury while trying to battle a Demon God Pillar.

But this time, my experience won out. Thanks to the training I've undergone in Agartha, I WAS able to escape with my life, though only barely.

That said, I don't have much time. So before I go...I'd like to talk to Scheherazade.

B-but, your Spirit Origin is just barely holding together. And besides, nothing you do about her will help to stop Laputa!

？！

The young, wounded warrior. The powerless, hapless, half-baked child, who never truly had a role to play in this story.

You can't stop this. You simply cannot.

Even if you sully your innocent hands by ending my life now...

Laputa will not be erased!

You're wrong, Scheherazade. What I'm going to erase...is your fear of death.

...?

You ARE a strong woman. You may have had the Demon God Pillar's help, but you still planned, constructed, and created this story.

More than that, you never gave us the slightest hint that it was you, even though we were right by your side. You are nothing if not resilient.

And not just you. Every woman we met here in Agartha was strong.

Dahut. Wu Zetian. Penthesilea. The pirates of Ys, the subjects of the Nightless City, the Amazons of El Dorado...

They were all strong, in their own ways. Thanks to that, I see now just how narrow-minded I used to be.

How foolish it was to think that women were nothing but chaste, dainty creatures that were only fit for sewing. That they could never be valiant opponents against whom to draw my sword.

...What is your point?

Are you saying that, now that you know how strong women are, you're ready to kill one yourself?

I told you. Even if you kill me

No, it's not that. My point is that I believe I eventually realized that when I was alive as well.

That version of me met, saw, spoke to, and did battle with strong women. I can even remember some names, though only faintly.

Medb of Connacht. Scáthach, the queen of the Land of Shadows. Aífe, ferocious as a wild dog.

Deirdre, who fiercely fought her awful fate. Ness, who offered up her body so her child could be king.

No doubt I met these women after I was fully-formed.

But even before I met them, there must have been other, similarly strong women as well.

That's what caused me to realize how men and women ought to be.

I...don't understand what you're talking about. There's no point in bringing up your past.

Yes, there is.

If I'm going to stop you, I need to tell you about myself. About how greedy I was.

Greedy...? Really? You've been all stoic and earnest, and a real nut for training all this time!

I mean that I was greedy for a king.

I wanted it all, so I had no choice but to train. It was a sign of my desire, and my anxiety.

It's the same with my greed.

Mash, do you remember what you told me before?

You said that no matter what else may happen, as long as you remain yourself...you'll become who you're meant to be.

I did? I... Yes. Maybe I did.

That's exactly what I'm talking about. In the same way that I came to realize how strong women are...

...the time I spent here in Agartha merely let me experience things I would eventually learn anyway.

Some women loved to plunder, some were bound by social norms, and some simply obeyed their leader.

What's more, every one of them lived happily in their own way. They all had strong points and shortcomings.

I'm a simple man at heart, so I wanted to resolve that complexity. I wanted to know if it was possible to lead a nation in a way that everyone could accept.

As I said before, I'm greedy. I couldn't stand the idea of everyone not being happy.

So as I learned more about Agartha, I kept thinking, and thinking, and thinking...

And in the end, I realized something I should have known all along.

？！

Haha. The truth is...hahahahaha!

I'm not cut out to be a king!

Huh...? After all that buildup...THAT is all you wanted to say!?

Of course not. There's more to it than that.

To make a long story short, I realized this morning that I don't measure up.

To put it bluntly, I just don't have what it takes to be a king.

You all saw that much sooner than I did, but I finally see it for myself now. Thank you all for being kind enough not to say anything.

？！

I never did become a king. Or rather, I didn't stay one for very long.

True. According to legend, you agreed to step down from the throne for a year and pass it on to your lover's child from a previous marriage.

But after the year had passed, your subjects still wanted your lover's child to continue ruling.

So you gracefully stepped aside and became a mere warrior...or so the legend goes.

Haha. Gracefully, huh... That's a nice way to put it, but I doubt I had any other choice. By that time, I'm sure I had already realized what I know now.

That I didn't have what it takes to be a king. That I was so greedy, it would be wrong of me to pursue that greed from the throne...

...and that fulfilling it as an ordinary man was the right thing to do.

In other words, I learned that I was only really suited for cherishing the things I love.

And what're those?

Fighting and women, of course.

(Senpai, Senpai. He's starting to sound more like the usual Fergus!)

？！

Incidentally, Da Vinci had it backwards.

I gave Conchobar the throne so that I could take Ness as my lover.

Essentially, I sold my crown all because I wanted a woman's body. Pretty despicable of me, isn't

Once again...where are you going with this!? I've never heard such an incoherent story in my life!

Really? I was hoping you would give me some leeway on that, since I'm a warrior rather than a storyteller... But, all right. I'll get to the point.

Basically, I learned about the strength that women possess.

I learned that they are our equals, and in many ways rivals, and are worth devoting my life to pursuing.

...What about you, Scheherazade?

...What do you mean?

Let me ask you about Agartha. You created it so that women would be the dominant gender.

Why?

I already told you. I used Columbus's desire as the base for

Are you sure about that?

Columbus's desire was to get rich by selling slaves. There was no reason those slaves had to be women.

As far as he was concerned, the fact that Agartha was full of women was simply icing on the cake.

He would have been perfectly happy, and acted the same even if it had been dominated by men.

If you had made this world in line with his desire, it could have just as easily been a world ruled by oppressive kings rather than queens.

But instead, you went out of your way to make it ruled by women. Why?

I... I'm not...

I see. So you did it unconsciously, without understanding why. My guess is...

You did that because you inherently fear men. You see them as being inextricably linked with death.

...?

That's why you wanted to keep them under control, and had them treated as livestock rather than people.

...Based on what you told us before, it was clearly that king who instilled this fear in you.

He was truly a terrible person, making you endure such torment for a thousand nights. He was not fit to be a king, just as I, though for different reasons.

Be that as it may... What does it matter?

That's why I have to tell you that you're wrong!

Now that I've realized the connection between me, the Fergus mac Róich who wanted to be a good king...

...and the Fergus mac Róich who knows how men and women ought to be...

I have to make sure you understand the truth I've grasped.

...

... (Gulp)

？！

You need men AND women!

To make children!

Bwa?

...

... (Whistle)

...

A very sound conclusion. What a profoundly mundane truism.

Wh-what are you talking about? That's just common sense...

Yes, it is. And yet, you don't seem to grasp it.

Yes, men can, and do, bring about death. But it's ridiculous to think of them in only that way.

There is a much more important role that men and women both share.

It's something you should be thinking about long before you think about dying or being killed!

No, I don't get it... I don't understand.

To begin with, how I think about death, or men, is none of your business.

And even if you do erase my fear of death, there is still nothing you can do to stop Laputa!

That's

Indeed. Laputa will not stop. It will only continue on its path towards the destruction of fantasy.

...?

Indeed. Laputa will not stop. It will only continue on its path towards the destruction of fantasy.

...?

Why's the body of one of the Resistance members talking!?

I thought you were a storyteller, Scheherazade. Why are you listening insteadof telling.

You're...!

I thought we had talked about our fear of death. About the cruelty that inevitably accompanies life.

My my, what a horrible voice. That sounds more in line with what his legend describes. Perhaps it has something to do with his new form.

At least he's talking in normal sentences now. Is that his new form, or did the poetry just get old? Either way, it certainly simplifies matters.

At any rate, I suppose we shouldn't be surprised that a demon of death and rebirth is hard to kill.

At the risk of being repetitive, he's technically already dead. That goes for both the human he's using as a vessel, and the Demon God Pillar himself.

And yet...he's still here...in the physical world. How is that even possible!?

？！

Phenex...

My friend. The one who understands me.

The one who runs from life and death.

Didn't I tell you about the many times I have died? About the unfairness of it all?

I know you have told me about the many times you have died. About the unfairness of it all.

And I know I told you this.

That you had reached the same conclusion as me, a Demon Goda being who has transcended human understanding.

Thus, it is truth. Our wish is truth. It is wrong for those with many lives to also experience death many times.

Yes... You're right...

But worry not. No matter what this rabble may be plotting, our wish WILL be granted.

As long as I am here... No, even if I fall now...

This fantastical city will still succeed in its descent and destruction of areal city on inertia alone.

There is no way to stop it. It is I who shall see that the will of the 72 Demon Gods is done.

The Incineration of Humanity may no longer be possible, but there is no end of ways to bring about their end.

My true ambition in dropping a mystical city is to burst the bubble of human understanding. May its fall bring about humanity's destruction!

...

？！

That's right. I'm certain there is.

But to figure it out and actually do it...it seems clear that we'll need to defeat this Demon God first!

That too is impossible.

The very nature of my being is all I need to declare that my destruction at your hands will never happen. What a pity.

Scheherazade, you are nearly at death's door. Stay there and bear witness as the world's life and death are blended together with fantasy.

I promise you that this detestable death will be the last death you shall ever have to suffer!

The Demon God Pillar has reappeared! His threat level is...even greater than before!

So we didn't splat him hard enough the first time? Man, he's tough!

Nonetheless...I'm afraid we have no choice. We will destroy him as many times as we must!

I'm afraid I'm not yet the knight of the Red Branch. I'm still on my way to becoming that.

But even so... I promise I'll use everything currently at my disposal to make up for being miscast.

I guess we'll just have to find a way to destroy him while we fight.

At any rate, we've finally found our ultimate objective. He may be one of Goetia's pesky remnants...

...but I bet that if Goetia were here now, he'd be clutching his ears and saying "We have no need for one such as this!" after hearing him speak!

I have no love lost for the King of Demon Gods, but we can at least pay him the minimum amount of respect we owe to any formidable opponent.

On behalf of Chaldea and all humanity, destroy the Demon God Phenex! Get him, Fujimaru!

Our attacks are landing...but we can't seem to kill him!

This is no time for compliments, but...no wonder he is called the Demon God of death and rebirth!

We're kiiinda worn out after all this fighting! If something doesn't give, I don't like our chances!

Crushing: loathsome. Burning: lamentable. Beheading: unwatchable. Now, the manner of your deaths!

His offense is relentless! Master, I think you should do something!

？！

...Ragnarok then. Wonderful. This will link life and death like never before.

...I've been waiting for this moment.

!?

I am unable to kill Scheherazade, for I am, without doubt, a "king" greater than any other.

And as you had bonded with her, I could not kill you either. Thus, I had no choice but to hide, and bide my time for the chance to strike.

But now that you have separated, that time has come!

How dare you address me, the greatest empress who ever lived, so informally! Your insolence goes too far, uh... Dammit, I forgot what I was calling you!

Well, no matter. I shall not soon forget this transgression, Fujimaru!

Funny how she still remembers your actual name...

？！

Silence, pink-haired hussy! Do not misunderstand me. This nation is still mine. I am still alive, after all, and I certainly never relinquished my throne!

As such, this hooligan is nothing more than a nuisance to my nation!

If he thinks he can float my land into the sky and drop it unpunished, this fool is gravely mistaken!

Wu Zetian! R-right... Her signal did disappear when Megalos crushed her in the Nightless City...

But I never saw exactly why that happened.

I assumed her Spirit Origin signal had vanished after that attack.

But she could have just been using her skills as an Assassin to conceal her presence this whole time!

Khh... You have wasted your effort, interloper... Cursed Wu Zetian! What can you hope to

Once I have found a criminal, the next step is obvious!

Torture, torture, and more torture!

Torture is the art of keeping one's victim alive as long and agonizingly as possible while killing him!

Now plunge into my deadly pot, Demon God!

Graaahhh...! Irksome flea!

Ghh...!

？！

...Idiot! Simpleton! Fool! Don't just stand there!

Surely you can find a way to kill even the Demon God of death and rebirth if he is being kept in a state of both life and death!

Now hurry up and finish him off!

How!? He's all...wriggling around and stuff, and he's surrounded by a poisonous bog!

...Now I see. So this is why I'm here.

Fergus?

d'Eon. Astolfo. ...Fujimaru.

The rest is up to you. Don't worry, I never had more than a bit part to play. It won't make any difference to the story if I'm gone.

H-hey... You're not seriously going in there!?

Ghh...aah...graaahhh...!

What is that fool doing, jumping into my Noble Phantasm!?

If I've read this right, this is a melting pot of life and death, shaped and molded by the pain of torture. It is another plane of existence, one where the very concepts of life and death mingle together.

So when I die here, and simultaneously come back to life, that should give me a chance to try again.

？！

Ghh, ah... Aah...! If this pot is truly a place where life and death are mixed together...

...and if, as the still-developing Fergus mac Róich who would ordinarily never even exist...

I am able to accept both life and death at the same time...then in that moment...

That should create a link to the version of me who should have been summoned all along!

So you're trying to force a connection between your death, and your rebirth!

That is certainly bold of you. You're essentially trying to resummon yourself.

But it could work. It would only be for a moment, but that WOULD let you make contact with your older self.

Except...you were already fairly injured to begin with, so that torturous Noble Phantasm could end up actually killing you.

How are you planning to go about the "rebirth" part?

With this...!

A Tamatebako! You still had one!?

It's the one...Columbus tried...to use. Luckily, it happened...to land near me... Ghhh...!

There's no more time. Here goes nothing. I'm going to accept this pain and death...and use the Tamatebako's magical energy to be reborn instantaneously.

At the same time, I'll pull out at least part of my true self's existence from the space between life and death...and make it my own!

Here goooeees...!

Fergus!

Ghh. Hra, aah... That's it. That's it...

Grow.

Grow like a rainbow. Become a sword of infinite length, but a sword nonetheless. For my rainbow sword of unending length...

...is also a spiral sword! My Spiral Rainbow Sword...Caladbolg!

That is...the sword the other Fergus carries!

That little dagger...? Really!?

With this sword, even a careless strike made in anger can easily annihilate three hilltops. Its power is great enough to destroy entire landscapes.

As such, I shall use it to crush both the Demon God who eternally wanders between life and death...

...and this land of fantasy floating beneath my feet!

Incredible... Caladbolg is absorbing all the surrounding magical energy as it spins, which is causing it to spin even faster!

Rainbow! Spill forth where the spiral leads!

Caledfwlch Caladbolg!

GRAAAHHH!

Hraaaaaahhh!

Still not enough, huh? In that case... Fujimaru! Finish him off!

Impudent boy, stirring up my Noble Phantasm like a mixing bowl! Well, what are you...(cough) waiting for!? Do it!

Master! We can't waste this opportunity they've created for us!

？！

The Demon God Pillar is slowing down! It's working!

Hnghhh... Hraaah! Almost...there...!

Please, stop it... You're destroying Laputa!

If you do that...I'll have to die, over and over, who knows how many times again!

Hahaha... This poison's not so bad once you get used to it. It's starting to feel more like a nice hot bath. At any rate...

I told you that men and women have an important role, but you still don't get what comes after that.

...!?

It's okay to live in fear of death. That's a feeling everyone has to different degrees.

But it's BECAUSE death inevitably comes at the end that you have to make sure to enjoy life.

A good life is one spent enjoying the pleasures it offers. Enjoying food. Enjoying drink. Enjoying battle. Enjoying sex. Enjoying laughter.

...I have every sympathy for you that you weren't able to live like that. But even if you weren't...

You should still find a way to smile! That exquisite body of yours is wasted if all you are is miserable!

？！

Fooou!!!

...Wait, no, that's not right. Sorry, forget I said that.

You are a strong woman to have fought death for so long. But the time for that is over. Now, you should live your life in a way that makes you happy.

The way you're living now: always shirking away, the fear of death constantly hanging over you to the point where you can't muster the slightest hint of joy...

How is that any different from being dead?

...!

I don't know about you, but the idea of living your whole life dreading what comes at the end doesn't sound like much fun to me!

If you're prepared to destroy the world all because you don't want to die... If you've got that much strength within you...

Then show me you're also prepared to meet life head-on with a smile!

I don't understand... I'll never understand. I can't smile. What would be the point!?

Men are suckers for women with lovely smiles. Naturally, that goes for me too!

So if you smile...you'll be able to land yourself a real catch, like me!

!?

If you landed me, I'd gladly make love to you. I'd do everything in my power to ensure we had beautiful, healthy children. And...

I'd protect you from all manner of deaths, from the pain and frustration that life keeps throwing at you, as much as I possibly can!

？！

No, this is Fergus's way of being encouraging! Never mind what he's saying! His voice is filled with such life-affirming energy!

It is practically brimming with energy!

Haha, if I inspired that sort of reaction in you, Ms. Mash, that's a fine compliment indeed!

But then, I guess that's no surprise, seeing as that was also one of my best pickup lines yet! There's not a woman in the world who wouldn't fall for it!

And I haven't let up on my Spiral Sword one bit either!

A true Celtic warrior is one who both gets the girl AND saves the world!

Th-that is the most arrogant, bullheaded, egotistical, moronic, self-centered way of thinking with one's phallus I've ever heard!

Those words are no more than wind! They are utterly hollow! There's no way to protect someone from "all manner of deaths."

It's absolutely impossible!

Hmm, you've got a point there. That may have been a bit much. If someone like Ms. Scáthach were to attack us, we'd be pretty thoroughly screwed.

But even in times like that, there'd be something there to replace your fear of death.

And I think the quickest way there is to help you get over it.

Have you ever been attended to by a handsome man when you were ill? Or had a beloved child squeeze your hand while you were laid up in bed?

...I don't understand. Just what are you trying to say?

？！

...

？！

Exactly. You see, O beautiful-bodied one? Even the young Master gets it.

？！

...

If a man you loved from the bottom of your heart...or a child you had raised with tender care...were by your side, you wouldn't even have time to fear death.

I imagine you're only saying such things because you've never been able to negate that fear.

...

...I...

Agh, aggghhh! No. Not yet!

What!? Thin tentacles are shooting out from his body, and headed for... Oh no!

I can't believe he still had that much strength left!

Aghhh it hurts I'm dying I'm dying while living I'm dying in the middle of the provisional contradiction when life becomes death!

I am too exhausted to escape this muddied space of both life and death, nor can I escape from the spiraling rainbow gouging away at me!

Scheherazade. Scheherazade! Give me the last of your strength, your life, even a little will do... AGHHH!

I...I'll die like this! But the concept I represent will end without dying!

Somewhere, the concept of the phoenix will have a worthless, meaningless end where it dies countless times without rebirth!

I'm melting I'm sinking it hurts it hurts to infinity hurry and give them to me you laggard I don't want to die hurry up hurry up it hurts AAAAAAGGGHHH!!!

How many times have I suffered the pain of death the fear of death it's not fair we're the only ones THE ONLY ONES! It's not fair it's not right I won't I won't I won't accept iiit!

...

Hurry, we must finish him off!

Or perhaps we should use a projectile of some sort to finish off Scheherazade instead!?

Wait! Hang on! Don't think we need to do that!

...No. This time, I refuse.

Wha...what are you doooing!? Have you gone mad, my friend!? I thought you feared death as I do! That you understood it like I do!

Indeed... I do. I understand it very well.

I know that I won't change. Even when this transient life ends, and the next me begins anew elsewhere...

I have little doubt that I will again be dreading the prospect of death.

...But despite that, Phenex...

The way you are now...is just a bit unseemly.

...What is this what is this what is this!? Scheherazade!

...Fearing death as I do, I can't help but be particular about the manner in which I die.

And at the least, I've decided I don't want this death to be at the hands of something as unseemly as you.

It is that simple.

Khh... I can't keep this up any longer. Now is the time! Bring him down!

As you wish, my little empress! Hraaahhh!

Ah...agh...AAAaaaghhhHHH Life death life death life death life life death death deaaath AAAGHHH!

NeehahahNo, that's how the daughter of a poor government official would laugh. Kehaha, haha... Yes, there we go. That's how an empress should laugh.

I worked...really hard, you know. I studied...as much as I could... I memorized books...and poems... Khh...!

I suppressed my desire...to play... Everything I did...I did to get...where I wanted to go.

I am...an empress. I decided...that's what I would be. So that's what I will be...right to...the end...

Kehaha, hahaha! That criminal got the punishment he deserved! Well...done...

Wu Zetian...

I only came to see that this criminal was properly punished. I had no interest in saving any of you.

(Cough) You hear...me...!?

？！

...Hehe. Still, since I was able to torture that imbecile who tried to overthrow my nation myself...

I'm in a rather good mood. An excellent mood, in fact. So...just for today...

I may just permit you to pat my head, or give me candy...if you like... Neehaha...

...

...

？！

True. Our lives are prone to unexpected goodbyes and meetings alike. That's just how it is.

And right now, we are still here...

...As I said, I know that I won't change. Not one bit.

But, I think it is your fault that I did that.

？！

It's because you said the fear of death could be laid to rest by living a meaningful life. I simply cannot possibly believe that.

But it did get me thinking...just a little...in a simplistic, fleeting, reflexive sort of way, without any thought as to what the future may actually hold...

...about how I might prefer to die when the time comes.

Dying with those I love by my bedside, secure in the knowledge that I had lived a full life...

Or dying by becoming part of something unseemly that is just using me as an energy source...

I thought, "Given the choice between those two possibilities, which should I choose?"

And I merely ended up choosing the former without even realizing I had done so. That is all.

Haha... I see. Still, I'm glad to hear it...

？！

Now don't look at me like that. I pushed myself well beyond my limits, after all. This was bound to happen when all was said and done. Agh...

Both my body and spirit are in tatters at this point.

But, having my present and my past, my life and my death, all in one form like this...isn't so bad.

Hey, Scheherazade.

...

If I got you to believe in living a meaningful life, then I guess all that blathering of mine paid off.

Even if that belief only lasts for this short time.

If you can, I hope you'll also sit down at some point and reread the events that took place here in Agartha as one of your own stories.

And that you'll come to see yourself as the woman who despised immortality in the end.

It'd be a lot more constructive than going through life always thinking about how you don't want to die.

I...don't know about that. I still don't understand at all.

I see. In that case, you'll need a teacher you can depend on. Someone like Fergus mac Róich: as handsome a man as you'll ever find.

The next time you come to life, make sure you seek me out, and let me make love to you. Do that, and you'll be sure to understand.

？！

...(Sigh) What a strange man you are.

Oho! Does that mean you'll do it!?

Not at all. I refuse from the bottom of my heart. In fact, I thoroughly detest dealing with you in any capacity.

You're slightly more bearable as you are now, but I refuse to meet your adult self. It would lead to an entirely different, perhaps worse, kind of death.

Hmm. You have a point there.

I HAVE made a great many women feel as though they were about to die from sheer bliss.

Hehe. Now look what you've done. My end approaches, and I had no time to prepare because you got me thinking about the kind of "death" you would give me. ...Ahh, now I see. So this is what you meant...

Haha...

Hmm. Maybe she did smile in the end, at least a little.

？！

Now then...I think it's time for me to go too.

I may have been miscast from the start, and I couldn't even do a good job as a bit-part player...

But to be honest, I enjoyed adventuring in this underground world with you all. I have no regrets.

I hope we'll meet again someday, if we get the chance.

Next time, I hope I can drink with you in my true knight form, without any reservations...

Hmph, some bit player he was. That kinda extra doesn't even leave room for the stars!

Indeed. Given that he so brilliantly prevented Laputa from crashing into the land...

？！

Hey, guys? Sorry to interrupt, but now's not exactly the time to be getting all sentimental.

Thanks to Fergus's spiral sword physically destroying Laputa's landscape, it's completely come to a halt...

...and we no longer have to worry about it falling on a major city. However...

The trade-off is that the Singularity has disappeared, which means Laputa is going to completely fall apart.

In other words, the chances of your survival are dropping rapidly even as we speak!

Okay, I take that last part back! Fergus isn't the lead anymore!

Where's he get off destroying the ground we walk on without so much as an "Astolfo-may-I?"

Agreed. Though I do not believe there WAS any time to discuss it, nor any alternative solution at hand!

Mash, the first thing I need you to do is calculate where the wreckage separating from Laputa will land!

Done! Don't worry, it's going to fall on the Tibetan Plateau. There are no people there!

In that case, we'll worry about it later. I do feel a little bad for all the nature and wildlife that's going to be majorly affected by this, though.

I also don't envy the people from the Association in this time who'll have to deal with this mess, but oh well, nothing I can do about that, no sirree.

...Now then, next order of business: rescuing the people still on Laputa!

Can't you just Rayshift Master out of here?

There are other humans here as well, as you may recall. Namely, the surviving Resistance members, and the men who had been imprisoned.

...Oh crap! I forgot all about them!

Maybe my hippogriff couldno, there's no way he could carry everyone! What do we do!?

Wait, I just remembered. Astolfo, remember the Resistance men you put to work?

Thanks to them, the survivors should all be gathered in one place now. Is there no way we can help them escape, Mademoiselle Da Vinci?

Just call me Da Vinci! Anyway, I know we have to do something about them. The question is: what? Hmm...

I'm running all sorts of simulations as we speak, but there's so little time!

Oh crap, the shaking's getting even worse. Don't think we got time to wait for the perfect solution!

F-for the moment, I'll get on my trusty hippogriff and make sure there're no stragglers!

If I find any, I'll bring 'em to the meetup point, so make sure you think of a way to get them out of here in the meantime! Up up and awaaay!

Oh, my apologies. I was so taken by the spectacle unfolding before me that I forgot to make my report.

Well, better late than never, I suppose: Astolfo, you may wish to pay attention to your flight path.

Ow! What was that!?

It looks like...some sort of flying silver pot?

Looks like you could use some help! I can feel Mahatma at work in this too!

？！

Yes, it's me! Helena Blavatsky, flying explorer extraordinaire!

Wh-what are you doing here? I mean, I'm very happy to see you and all, but!

Hmm... Now you mention it, what AM I doing here?

First an Agarthan...no, a guy with a weird beard shot me, but I survived because I fell into a nearby river.

But I was still in really bad shape, so I erected a really strong barrier and went to sleep underground so that I could heal.

Then, after I recovered, I started exploring Agartha itself. Oh, and I just happened upon a Holy Grail!

I brought it back to my mobile lab and used it to power up into Super Helena, which is nice and all...

But then I noticed all this shaking, and I thought it might've been something I did. So, I decided to come out and see what was going on.

Hm? You know, it actually feels like there was something different about me before I went to sleep, but I can't put my finger on it...

If Helena was part of the cast in Scheherazade's story, she may have had some sort of inauthenticity.

Not that there's any way to find out now, of course.

A Holy Grail underground... Perhaps that was what served as the Singularity's structural core.

I imagine it must have come free once the destruction was underway.

Oh, Sherlock. I didn't know you were here too. No exploring for you this time, huh.

Anyway, what happened to Agartha? When do I get my chance to shine?

Wait, hang on. I just realized this whole landmass is flying! What sort of mystical forces are at play here? And why's it all falling apart!?

Do I even have time to explore it now!?

Never mind that now, Helena! There's something important we need to ask you! You're the only one who can help us!

Huh? Hmm, well, there's no room for them inside, but I think they could all fit on top...

？！

Master and d'Eon could ride on Astolfo's hippogriff, but there are other people there that need help.

All you'd have to do is get them safely to the ground. Please!

...I get the feeling I already missed out on all the fun stuff, and I am NOT happy about that!

But in the face of such a heartfelt plea, I suppose I have no choice but to say...

...of course! Just this once, I'll let you all experience how wonderful Mahatma is for yourselves!

Hmm. Perhaps it needs a bit more?

"Thus, they succeeded brilliantly in carrying out the Remnant Order for the underground world.

...But we must not forget that there were four Pillars which escaped from the Temple of Time.

We know that there are other survivors still remaining.

Curiously, this casemuch like Shinjukuseemed steeped in stories.

Putting the question of whether these two cases shared similar themes aside...

The time will no doubt come soon when they find themselves in the midst of another new story..."

That does make it clearer, but it's also rather superfluous. Then again, it may be important to allude to the fact that these events are still in motion...

... (Sigh) I just can't seem to find the right words for this last sentence. I think I shall have to come back to it later.

Jotting down my thoughts to help pass the time is all well and good, but it's clear that I have no talent for the written word.

I learned that lesson well during the case of the blanched soldier and the case of the lion's mane.

If it's all going to turn out the same in the end, I may as well leave the storytelling to Watson and save myself some time.

...Then again, when you get right down to it...

Perhaps there would be no need to record my cases at all if there were a beautiful woman with a lovely voice ready to tell these "stories" at any time.

Oho! I sense a beautiful woman nearby!

...Guess I was imagining things. I could have sworn I smelled perfume, though.

Oh well, guess I'll just have to go back to casually showing off my muscles with Celtic push-ups.

Back when I was a kid, I used to do this whenever I had a spare moment in order to train...

But now that I've put on all this muscle, I only ever do it to show off, don't I.

Hup, hup, hup.

All right, beautiful woman. Feel free to pass through this hall, feast your eyes on these manly muscles, and be overcome with lust any time now...

There! Luscious curves at twelve o'clock!

Not again...

You know, I haven't bedded many women lately. Maybe I've lost my touch? I'd better find a way to turn things around before it's too late.

That was too close...

I must be certain to never, ever run into him.

After all...

I don't want to die just yet...