On to an Unprecedented Journey

(Huff...) We finally made it back...! Everyone's okay...!

So this is the hangar! It's a lot bigger than it looked in the file!

Just shut it and get in the container, coglione! I can feel the cold breathing down our necks!

Fou, fooou!

Heeey! Over here! Quicklyyy!

The ice is right behind you! Look!

The enemy Servant's closing in! I'll fight her off, Master!

If I don't stop her here, everyone who fled to the container will suffer the consequences...!

No need for that! They'll never catch up to us at this pace!

One more step and victory is ours! I'll bring up the rear. The rest of you

Indeed. You were just one step short.

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I'm sorry. Old habit of mine. You left your heart open, and that seemed the fastest way to end you.

...Hngh...!

Hmm. Servant or not, you can't survive once your Spirit Origin core has been shattered.

Farewell, Leonardo da Vinci. With you gone, Chaldea's head is well and truly crushed.

Da

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Stay back, Fujimaru!

Gnnn... You...little...!

Oho, you've got guts. Instead of pulling away, you're pinning me with your own body? Impressive.

Grab the case and go! Hurry! Do NOT let them get their hands on that Spirit Origin graph!

No... No, no, no, no, NO! We can't possibly do that...!

We can't just run away and leave you behind...!

Oh, yes you can! I wouldn't have helped you if you and Fujimaru weren't the sort of people you are!

Goodbyes always have a way of surprising you, even for geniuses like me!

I guess it's for real this time. No more getting lucky, like in the Holy Land.

...Take care of Mash for me, Fujimaru. And take good care of what's in that case, too.

And not just because it'll be useful, okay? That graph is proof that your journey really happened.

...It's our pride and joyboth for me, and the others who aren't with us anymore. I just couldn't bring myself to erase it.

...

Oh, no you don't. You're not pulling your hand out yet. You just killed a genius. Don't think you're getting off that easily...!

Go on, Fujimaru, hurry. The Chaldea you knew is gone now.

But as long as you and Mash are alive, this isn't over. I'm positive there'll be a new Chaldea in the future.

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Farewell, Fujimaru! I know it's a lot to ask, but don't give up, and do your best!

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But... But...! Ghh, ghhh...!

Mash Kyrielight, Fujimaru, Goredolf Musik.

That's the last three! We're all in here now!

Fou, fooou!

Three? Don't you mean four? Where's Ms. Da Vinci?

...Da Vinci's... She's...!

She's gone! That Servant was killed in the line of duty! She went out in a blaze of glory!

Ugh, shut off the waterworks, girl! Your blubbering is annoying!

...I see. In that case, all we must do now is survive.

W-well sure, but how exactly do we go about doing that, Holmes!?

This shelter's only gonna last so long! It's getting colder and colder outside!

We go about it like this, naturally. Do you all see those pipes on the wall?

Hold tightly to them, and be sure to keep your mouths closed. It is about to get rather...bumpy in here.

Wait... You don't mean we're going to escape in this container, do you!?

I certainly do. That is, of course, the entire purpose we had in making it.

Not to worry, we've already prepared it to handle sudden changes in atmospheric pressure! Just sit back and enjoy the six-kilometer sled ride!

Wha

What the HEEEEEELL!?

Confirming their Caster's Spirit Origin is gone. This just about completes our operation now, but...

...I didn't think they still had another Servant up their sleeve. You really can't trust everything you read in reports, can you?

You're the one who planned this operation, Koyanskaya. What do you think?

Hey, this isn't MY fault. I said all along I suspected they weren't telling us everything.

...Though I will say I didn't expect them to slide down the mountain in a shipping container.

That was how they threw away their trash, right? The trip must have reduced those humans to just red smears on the container walls, right?

Please. This was obviously their plan from the start, and they managed to keep that extra Servant a secret. They must have something else up their sleeve.

The Master, the Demi-Servant, Goredolf, and the eight surviving staff members...

That makes eleven precious human lives. Can I trust you to take care of them, Koyanskaya?

You can. This is a bit beyond the scope of my job here, but I'm willing to make an exception. I have my pride, after all.

Besides...we need to make sure the humans are completely wiped out, don't we?

Oh God, we're sledding! We're actually sledding in this thing! This is ridiculous, even for us!

Still, this SHOULD let us escape. Once we've made our way down the mountain, there should still be an Association ship at the

Wh-wh-wh-what the hell was that!? Oh God, we're spinning! The container's spinning around on its side!

Fou, fooou!

Did somebody just snipe us!? But where could they have possibly shot at us from!?

O-o-oh God, the container's falling apart! If we get thrown out at this speed, we'll

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Don't worry! It only looks like a container from the outside!

We WILL survive this! I planned for pretty much exactly this situation!

I didn't spend the last six months modifying this thing for nothing!

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Hello and good morning, fellow Chaldeans! Well, I guess I should say it's nice to meet you all?

I'm Leonardo da Vinci.

But since we're all friends here, you can just call me Da Vinci.

...

Fo

Wha

Wha

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I got a new look! I'm a genius, after all. Can't expect me to keep the same style forever!

Or are you so struck by my beauty you're at a loss for words? Hah! Of course you are! You little devils, you!

Let's just say this is the sheer, unbridled power of a main character! Bit of a shock seeing me again five minutes after my tragic death scene?

Allow me to explain. That is a spare body Ms. Da Vinci created for herself in case of emergency. It is a relatively low-cost solution, though unfortunately it has a commensurately low output.

And so she is able to behave as though she is simply picking up where the former Da Vinci left off...

...even though she is a low-ranking Servant who only just awakened.

Hmph. You there! Black Coat Guy who's just plain SUCKING at driving this thing!

What gives with the spoilers? I was waiting for the perfect moment for my big reveal, you know?

E-excuse me, but...is that true? Are you really Da Vinci?

I sure am. Take a look at these glasses if you don't believe me.

Mash, Fujimaru, this may be the first time we're meeting, but I already know all about you.

I inherited all the other me's memories, after all. I've really been looking forward to the day I could meet you all like this!

I might not be quite as capable a Renaissance Woman as the old me, but I hope I can help you out from now on just the same.

If you've quite finished with your introductions, please get back to the controls, Da Vinci.

Need I remind you...

...that you are an artificial Servant created expressly for the purpose of piloting this All-Terrain Void-Transporter, the Shadow Border.

Without you, the Shadow Border cannot function at full capacity.

Ugh, you really are a buzzkill, Holmes. You know I can't talk while I'm in the control tube!

But, this IS an emergency, and everyone's safety does come first. Guess I'll just go back to sleep, then.

We'll talk later, after things have calmed down. Good night, Fujimaru. Good night, Mash.

G-good night? S-S-Senpai! Who was that tiny Da Vinci!?

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What a jump! That was a slope-crossing impact, wasn't it!?

Correct! I see you're quite the driving enthusiast, Goredolf!

Wh-why yes, as a matter of fact. I don't like to brag about it, but I am something of an amateur racer.

I'm the sponsor, driver, and strategist, all rolled into one. Musik the Phoenix, they call me

Now then, we're about to reach the ice shelf! From there, we'll head for the coast and the sea beyond!

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Hm? Oh, that's right, you don't know where we are, do you?

Well then! Take a look out the window, Mr. Fujimaru! It's not every day one gets a chance to see scenery like this!

Now, time for our last job.

The Pseudo-Celestial Sphere Chaldeas... The miracle that leads to the Root. The miracle that the Animusphere family wished for and dreamed about for over two millennia...

Part of me wishes we didn't have to trample all over this dream, but such is life.

It is the job of adults to teach children the harsh truth of reality. Even the tsar fears this celestial sphere.

After all, changing the past via Rayshifting is the one threat we can't counter.

...So this is Chaldeas. It looks just like an Easter egg...

So this is the device I must freeze, Father?

That's right. That is what the tsar wants. You must use your Noble Phantasm to defeat the traitors.

You must bury this magnificent crown jewel of humanity yourself, in a coffin of permafrost.

What will you do, Your Imperial Highness, Grand Duchess Anastasia?

...

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Although many nations have claimed this land as their own, the fact remains that it is the last frontier yet to fall into humanity's grasp.

Chaldea was built right in its center, so that no nation could use it for their own ends.

It was built on a mountain range hidden by an endless blizzardor rather, the lingering scent of Mysticsand then further reinforced by a Bounded Field.

It is the largest, and only, observatory of humanity on the entire planet, its location and secrets concealed from the moment of its creation.

That is Chaldea, the Security Organization for the Preservation of Humanity. I suppose I ought to say that it WAS Chaldea.

As of now, Chaldea has fallen into the hands of an unknown adversary, one who is trying to shut it down even as we speak.

Trying to shut it down...? Even as we speak?

Correct. I've confirmed that as of twenty seconds ago, all Command Room transmissions have ceased, and all power output has shut down.

Chaldeas is no longer operating, either. The air-conditioning has stopped, and the inside temperature has dropped below minus one hundred degrees.

As loath as I am to say it, we must face the facts: Chaldea is lost.

We no longer have any means of taking it back, or even returning to it.

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Stop it... Please, stop it! I have to go back to Chaldea! Please, let me go back!

It hasn't been taken from us yet! I know it hasn't!

All my memories of the time I spent with everyone else are there! Nothing can change that!

And...and...Doctor Roman's room is still...!

Fou...

S-stop that! What do you hope to accomplish by going back now!? Go on, youngster, talk some sense into her!

Mr. Fujimaru, would you mind holding Mash back fromNever mind, there is no need for that. Her body has reached its limit.

I am afraid that is what happens when one transforms while one is unable to properly synchronize with one's Spirit Origin: all the duress you place on your body comes back to bite you.

At this point, she lacks even the strength to open the hatch.

I would advise that you sit her down and strap her in before she suffers unnecessary injury.

Hn... ...!

...I'm, sorry... I'm so sorry, everyone...!

If I'd... If I'd only been able to fight as a real Servant...!

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Senpai...

Aw, Mash... ...Hm? Hang on. What's that...?

Holmes, are you seeing what's outside the window!?

Of course. I've seen it since I took control.

...Nevertheless, it IS hard to believe. One could be forgiven for thinking it a bad dream.

Are those meteoroids!? But we didn't get any reports from Panama!

If there were meteoroids too big to burn up in the atmosphere headed this way, we would've heard!

And what's with those trajectories!? How can they possibly be falling straight down like that!?

An occurrence that defies human understanding, hm?

That tells us they cannot be meteoroids. I believe we can rule out debris as well.

Which means this can only be something once relegated to fiction. For example, an invasion from outer space.

You're joking, right? Who could say something like that with a straight face!?

I-I mean, that would just be absurd, right? Or what, are you really saying those people were aliens?

That they only pretended to be human in order to take over Chaldea? How can

My apologies, but please, do be quiet. We're picking up an external transmission. It's using the same frequency you did at Chaldea.

...anity. We have a message for all of humanity.

This planet will soon be reborn as an old, brand-new world.

Human civilization was a mistake. The path of our growth was incorrect.

And so I have made my decision. I will revolt against all of human historyProper Human History.

We are about to fill this world with inhuman Mystic secrets. We will restore the Age of Gods.

To that end, the gods have descended from a far-off galaxy, and in their wisdom, they have used seven seeds to select new leaders.

These leaders will remake this planet as they see fit. And the one who reign supreme shall be given the right to renew the world itself.

The life-forms from Proper Human History will not be permitted to take part in this war, or even to view it from the sidelines.

The roots of cosmic fantasy have descended upon us. Trees of creation have sprung up all across the land.

Now, all of the old humanity's endeavors will be set aside, frozen.

Thus shall you atone for your sins.

2019... The year that Proper Human History came to an end.

My name is Wodime. Kirschtaria Wodime.

On behalf of the seven Crypters, I have a message for those of you who escaped from Chaldea.

No, rather, I have a message for the scant few remnants of the human race: WE will be the inheritors of this world's history.

...Kirschtaria...? That did SOUND like Kirschtaria, but...

Kirschtaria Wodime!? The leader of Team A!?

Here I was going to take him under my wing, and this is the thanks I get...!?

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NOW what is it!?

Emergency from the computer room! Emergency from the computer room!

Hey there! It's me, Da Vinci, the one controlling the Border all by my lonesome☆

We're less than two thousand meters away from the coast now, but I'm afraid we've got a little problem to deal with first.

I'm picking up a TON of Spirit Origin signals up ahead. It's more of the soldiers that attacked Chaldea.

I'm counting about... Well, see for yourself! As they say, a picture's worth a thousand words!

...! It IS those soldiers that attacked Chaldea...!

H-how can there even be that many!? Dammit! Looks like a whole damn division out there! The hell is this!?

Fou, fooou!

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There's no way our Border here can break through a group like that. If we try to charge them, we'll all be dead way before we hit the water!

Holmes! Hard right! We'll have to give up on the ship and try for another observatory!

I'm afraid that won't work, Da Vinci. We're getting no response from the American base.

In fact, according to the sonar, there is nothing to be found anywhere. Surely you can see that yourself.

As long as we remain in Antarctica, we have no chance of victory. If the enemy forces who occupied Chaldea catch up to us, we will be quite finished.

Our only hope for survival is to plow through that mass of soldiers and pray we make it out to sea.

You'd bet all our lives on THAT!? What are you, an idiot!? We can't possibly break through that army!

Even if we did somehow make it out to sea, the ship is bound to be hijacked by now!

It would only be a matter of time before they catch up to this broken-down truck and slaughter us all!

That's one opinion. Mr. Fujimaru, tell me, what do you think?

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Quite right! This is an adventure, and one of the grandest ones imaginable at that.

It's certainly not some boring escapade where we barrel our way through an army of horrific killers.

No, this will be humanity's first magecraft voyage. To date, humankind has traveled to the moon, the subterranean world, and even through time.

This voyage will be unlike any of those trips, though no less grand in ambition.

The world we hope to visit is one that cannot exist without being defined, even as it lies in a domain beyond our reach.

In other words, we will be attempting to travel to a world that exists on the negative vector.

Wh...what did you just say? You can't mean...

Da Vinci. Permission to use the Paper Moon.

The Atlas Institute may not have cleared me for it, but I'm quite familiar with its operation.

After all, I got a rather thorough look at its top secret manual while I was in their headquarters.

Tri-Hermes at the Atlas Institute, hmm. You detective types are always on the job, aren't you?

Still, be honest with me: How good do you think our odds are of pulling that off? Better than if we tried to fight those soldiers?

Thirty percent at best, I should think. For that matter, I can't even be sure where we'll end up.

If all we wish to do is make it out of this predicament alive, I have no doubt there are better options available.

But, if you have your sights set further than that, this is the one I recommend. I believe it will aid us in fighting this adversary in the future.

...Understood. Expanding Void-Reality Observation Device: Paper Moon.

Expanding Logic Formula on Shadow Border's external armor. Removing existence verification for Reality Space.

Future prediction: hypothetically prove mirror world plane in twenty seconds. Relaxing space-time friction decompression for 0.6 seconds.

...Emergency processes, all green. Looking good, Holmes! We're all set for our maiden voyage!

Now then, a little heads-up for those of you in the cockpit!

Your souls will almost leave your body for a moment, but don't worry, you'll be fine! It's just your average out-of-body experience!

But if you find yourself saying stuff like "I-I'm floating?" or "Is that my own body I'm looking at?"...

...just reach out, grab your body, and hold on for dear life! As long as you do that, you'll come out the other end alive!

How is any of that "fine"!? You've just said you're literally going to kill us!

Fou fou. Nnn, fooou.

Master...! I still don't understand what's going on. Are you sure about this...!?

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Now that's the Fujimaru I know! Then without further ado, let's get started.

Although this Phenomenon Intervention Method we're about to attempt is one of the first Chaldea ever devised, we banned its use because of its extreme difficulty and danger.

You know how Rayshifting involves breaking a Master down into Spiritrons and outputting them into space-time as numeric values? Well, this way of traveling through space is the exact opposite.

We'll be slipping through a crack in this world into a Sea of Time, completely erasing our existence from reality.

...We have a lot on our plates right now. An adversary that attacked Chaldea. Those things that fell from space. The Crypters.

Like Mash said, we don't know WHAT'S going on right now.

But one thing we know for sure is that they're all enemiesthreats to humanity that even destroyed Chaldea.

If we're going to do something about all this, we'll have to start breaking even more forbidden taboos.

We are NOT handing over the future we worked so hard to take back to a bunch of newcomers we don't know the first thing about.

So first, we find a way out of this mess. Then, we strike back.

Well, let's get going, Master Fujimaru. We have a new weapon, and a new course ahead of us...

Shadow Border, untether from reality. Void Space Dive, Zero Sail: unfurl!