Fate/Grand Order story · Part 2: Cosmos in the Lostbelt, Lostbelt No.2: The Eternal Icy Fire Century, Götterdämmerung
intro.2-1
Lostbelt No.2: The Eternal Icy Fire Century, Götterdämmerung. 0
1 scenes, 304 lines
1. Before the battle
304 lines"...I repeat: I am a mage from Proper Human History. Please come find me at the following coordinates..."
"This is Baldanders, the Wandering Sea."
Wandering Sea... Wandering Sea...!? THE Wandering Sea!?
That's one of the three great organizations of the magecraft world...! There's the Clock Tower in London, the Atlas Institute in Egypt...
...and the oldest of them all, the Wandering Sea...! It was located on an island from the Age of Gods, hidden in the northern oceans...!
Does this mean...it still exists!?
Atmospheric analysis complete. Nitrogen, oxygen, argon, and carbon dioxide levels, all green.
The mana in the atmosphere is almost identical to levels in the twenty-first century. I'm not picking up any harmful trace substances either.
Hmm. So we still have breathable air, even in this creepy, bleached world...
Well, that means we can park the Shadow Border and go have a look for ourselves.
What do you think, Fujimaru? Doesn't that sound intriguing, stepping out into a world of sheer nothing in every direction?
Hahaha, of course it does! First we'll go out and get some fresh air, then we'll look for food
I am kind of interested, but...
You still haven't told me what the Wandering Sea actually is...
？！
...(Cryptic silence)
...(Empty smile)
...You don't know either, do you?
？！
O-o-of course I do, you dolt! Goredolf Musik is not a man to pretend to know something he doesn't!
The Mage's Association isn't a monolith, I'll have you know!
Just because I used to work at the Clock Tower doesn't mean I've ever been to the supposedly living Wandering Sea in the North Sea!
Oh, so you've only heard rumors? I thought you were from some big, important family, old man!
Don't you call me that, Double-Chin! If I must spell it out for you, then here it is:
The Wandering Sea of Baldanders is the first enigma ever discovered in the world of magecraft, and it will be the last to be puzzled out.
It's an island so mysterious and full of Mystics that even such a gifted mage of an incredibly prestigious bloodline as myself may not even set foot on it!
It's true. That all fits with what's in Chaldea's database.
It says that though the Mage's Association has been around since the start of the A.D. era, it also split into three branches shortly after its inception.
The mages who settled in London evolved with the times, and focused on developing magecraft over the course of history.
That faction went on to become the Clock Tower, the largest and most powerful magecraft organization in the world.
Its members include the Animusphere familythe founders of Chaldeaand Mr. Goredolf here.
Quite so. Here in the twenty-first century, the Mage's Association and the Clock Tower are all but synonymous.
The next major faction is the Atlas Institute in Egypt. They're dedicated to perfecting alchemy.
We actually infiltrated their headquarters once, during the Sixth Singularity.
It was a huge research complex, almost like a giant crypt, built deep underground. And as easy as it was to get in, it was hard to get out.
The Atlas Institute's ironclad rule is that the technology created there must never leave...
...but Chaldea's first director was granted an exemption, thanks to the Atlas Contract.
The technology he was able to take from the Atlas Institute enabled him to complete Chaldeas.
It was also the Atlas Institute that presented him with the Void-Reality Observation Device, Paper Moonone of the finest Mystic Codes ever made.
Indeed. They seldom poke their noses out of their little hole in the ground, but I am told they do converse with Lords, albeit as little as possible.
They may be a heartless bunch who only care about weapons and technology, but they can be rather useful if you play your cards right.
And finally, the last faction is the Wandering Sea, the Baldanders, said to be somewhere in the North Sea.
However, the most I could find about them was a brief overview, even in Chaldea's extensive files.
It said that their cardinal rule is to only recognize magecraft from the Age of Gods, and refuse to accept any advancements or alterations urged by civilization.
In essence, their ideology is the exact opposite of the Clock Tower's.
Indeed. Refusing to accept progress in magecraft means refusing to accept consumer civilization.
The Wandering Sea's philosophy of magecraft is fundamentally incompatible with modern human society.
That is why they keep their gates firmly shut, and why they seldom add to their number...
Hmph. In other words, they're a bunch of old fuddy-duddies obsessed with magecraft so ancient it has to be measured with carbon dating.
That said, they do open their gates just once every year to try and recruit promising new talent...
...but even among mages of the Clock Tower, the number who actually make it to the Wandering Sea can be counted on one hand.
Do you see my point? I'm saying the Wandering Sea is every bit as secretive as the Atlas Institute, just in a different way.
No one from the outside has ever been able to get the full story. The reason being
As the name suggests, the Wandering Sea is always on the move.
Most who know of it believe it to be a floating island somewhere in the North Sea, but it is, in fact, the very opposite.
The Wandering Sea's headquarters were built before the A.D. era began, and they never move at all. It is instead the sea in which they are located that moves around. A world unto itself in many ways...
That is almost certainly why its location still remains a secret even in the twenty-first century.
Land that moves around while placing Mystic textures on itself... I see. That would make it its own independent Singularity.
It would also explain how it was able to escape whatever turned the earth's surface into an endless white desert.
Hmph! All this time they've been turning their noses up at us, but the moment things go south, they don't have any issue sending us a distress signal!
Some successors to "true" Mystics they turned out to be! They should try taking a page from our book!
We're the ones who made it through Russia by the skin of our teeth, with no outside help! WE'RE the ones who are currently flailing about with no plan!
At least you understand that the situation is still pretty dire, I guess...
...Given the present circumstances, it looks like the people of the Wandering Sea have decided to bend their rules in order to offer us a lifeboat...
At any rate! H-hmm... Administrative Advisor Holmes! I have a question for you!
I would like to be as certain as possible. What do you make of this? Can we trust that their distress signal is genuine?
I'm afraid I can't speak to that. What do you think, Da Vinci?
Could go either way from the look of it. This transmission isn't part of the Clock Tower's standards, but its wavelength is pretty close to the waveforms the Atlas Institute uses.
Since we don't have any data about the Wandering Sea ourselves, I can't really give you a definitive answer.
Still, I can verify that there's definitely something to be found at these coordinates.
Whatever their story is, if there's a magecraft workshop there, I'd really like to at least check it out.
I know we managed to stretch things with the materials we got in Russia, but there are still limits to what the Shadow Border can do.
What I really want to do is retune the whole frame from scratch, but I doubt we'll be finding much in the way of materials considering the entire world seems to be an empty wasteland.
Hmm. These coordinates from the Wandering Sea would put it in...the seas west of Norway.
We could go through the Scandinavian Peninsula, or turn north at Germany and cut across Denmark.
We just left Moscow heading west, so it will take us a few days to reach them regardless of our route.
Assuming that the Border can convert the mana in the atmosphere into electricity, that just leaves the question of food.
What if we go to the Wandering Sea via Zero Sail?
Can't we just, you know, pop over there?
？！
Uh-uh. No Zero Sails. As technical advisor, I expressly forbid it.
Even if we are going to run into another one of those storm walls along the way, we need to stick to the surface as much as possible.
But why!? And did you just say there are more of those storm walls!?
Explain yourself, Technical Advisor!
If there's another storm wall in our path, doesn't that mean running straight into another Lostbelt!?
We don't have any other choice, Goredolf. Not with the two big problems we're facing...
First, there's the small matter of the Wandering Sea living up to its name. These coordinates they sent us are all over the place.
...Literally, in fact. They're in a constant state of fluxnothing definite or precise.
With coordinates like these, it would be very risky to try Zero Sailing there with the Paper Moon.
So until and unless we go to the Wandering Sea directly and forge some kind of connection to it, a long distance Zero Sail is out of the question.
Secondand this is the real problemwe don't have the energy.
Yes, Holmes oh so helpfully suggested converting mana into electricity as if it were a simple matter, but that can only get us so far.
The conversion rate isn't efficient enough, so we'd end up spending more power than we can produce, which would make a long Zero Sail trip fatal.
After all, no more power means no more working life-support systems. And I don't know about you guys, but I sure don't want to be out in this bleached white world all by myself.
Good point... The logic walls we have to put up in Void Space do use a lot of power...
At our current energy levels, I don't think the Border could last two hours there. And like Da Vinci said, we don't even have the exact coordinates we need.
G-grr...!
So what? Are you saying we need to enter another Lostbelt if we're going to reach this possible hope for salvation!?
Where is this new Lostbelt, anyway!?
If we use a typical world map, then the entire Scandinavian Peninsula is covered by one of these storm walls.
Another half a day or so of driving...and you should all get to see the closest thing to the edge of the world for yourselves.
...I take that to mean this white, featureless ground will continue until we exit Russian territory then.
At any rate, we have two possible routes to the Wandering Sea's designated coordinates:
One that takes us across the Scandinavian Peninsula, and one that brings us out to sea via Poland and Germany.
Da Vinci, in your estimation, which of these gives us our best chance? Should we go by land, or by sea?
I think making a sea voyage would be a lot to ask of the Border. We could perhaps get through the Strait of Dover...
...but to be honest, I'd rather we keep our distance from the British Isles, since we have no idea about the state of the oceans just now.
So what I'm saying is, I think the overland route is the best choice right now.
Good grief. No sooner are we done with one Lostbelt than we're off to a second. Your thoughts, Mr. Fujimaru?
...Honestly, that's a scary thought.
Indeed, I heartily concur. But I promise you will have our full support.
To be afraid in a situation such as this is the mark of sanity. Let us just leave it at that.
Um...are there any other regions we could cross?
An excellent question! I want to know what's going on in the rest of the world, too! What about Europe, for instance!?
The Scandinavian Peninsula is the only place with a storm wall. I'm not seeing anything on the Greek side whatsoever.
Also...I didn't mention this before because I didn't want to upset you, but I'm not seeing anything from England at all.
We need more powerful observation equipment than what the Shadow Border's got to see what's happening with the British Isles.
？！
Grr, so you're set on having us cross the Scandinavian Peninsula then, aren't you, Da Vinci!?
All right, we've come this far after leaving Moscow, so at the Border's current speed...
...we should reach the peninsula in about two days! Very well then! Use that time to make sure we're fully prepared!
Meunière! If we run into anything we could use to shore up our defenses along the way, take that opportunity to stop the Border and ensure everything is in good working order!
Da Vinci, you look after the little Demi-Servant girl. I can't have her falling down on the job!
Holmes, come with me! We're going to the solitary confinement chamber!
Solitary confinement... Mr. Goredolf, does that mean
Of course. I'm going there to interrogate Kadoc. He should be waking up anytime now.
It's time for me to put my brilliant "questioning" skills to use!
When I'm through with him, he'll have told us what the Crypters are, what Wodime is planning...everything! Mark my words!
I'm coming too.
Hmph. Don't you look at me like that.
You need the right people for the right job. I admit I may not be the best fit for interrogation, but you? Even less so.
Don't you worry. Kadoc may be something of a twisted little brat, but he's still a growing boy. Merely tempt him with food and he'll be putty in my hands!
Trust me! One whiff of my creamy carbonara will turn his complexion from sour milk to sunflowers in an instant!
...
Oh, yes, of course. I almost forgot to give you orders as well. Me, of all people!
If you've got nothing better to do, then go help Meunière with his work. Or just go up on the deck and take a look around if you like.
？！
Worry not, Mr. Fujimaru. I'll see to it that the interrogation doesn't devolve into violence.
...In fact, I have my own questions I wish to ask him.
I have a fairly good idea of the Crypters' goal now, and I also believe I know the extent of Kadoc Zemlupus's personal knowledge.
However, there are still two important things I know little about: the Tree of Emptiness, and that Sirius Light Command Spell of his.
Granted, the latter is something Kadoc merely mentioned once, and may not be that impor
A-an emergency alert!? What's this all about!? I thought there weren't supposed to be any more Oprichniki!
We're not out of the Russian woods yet! Something's approaching us at high speed!
It's closing in on our port side at over ninety kilometers per hour!
Come on, Meunière! Floor it before it catches up to us!
I can't! We're just about to go uphill! The Border can't go any faster!
Oh crap, I'm picking up a heat signature too! It's...an RPG!
Impact in three, two
I felt that! Please tell me that wasn't a direct hit, Da Vinci!
Damage report! Is the engine intact? Are we going to have to bail in the middle of this race!?
I'm sure the damage is negligible, and our armor still perfectly intact. We shouldn't need to do more than wipe off the scorch mark.
The Shadow Border's armor is a composite of cutting-edge technology and magecraft theory. Normal weapons can't even scratch it.
That's not what I'm seeing, Holmes! That blast took out one of our armor plates! Another hit like that, and we'll be in deep shit!
Huh? Really?
Some great detective you are!
Hoooooolmes!
？！
Then, that means... I-I remember now!
This is the same sort of explosion I felt way backer, two weeks ago, when I was just a hapless, albeit handsome, man being shot at with an anti-materiel rifle!
This can only mean that Koyanskaya is back to finish the job! I-it really might be curtains this time!
Fou, fooou!
Spare us the trip down memory lane, old man! Come on, Holmes! Do something!
Right! My apologies; I'm not used to eating crow.
Evacuate all staff in the port-side hallway to the engine room immediately. Ms. Kyrielight and I will go and deal with this attack.
On that note, Ms. Kyrielight, I would like you to put up a magical energy barrier in the internal hallway, so as to fend off a possible second round.
I trust you're all right with that, Fujimaru?
I am. Go for it, Mash!
Don't worry, Senpai. I won't let them put one more scratch on the Border!
I'm coming with
Oh no you don't! You stay right here! We can't have everyone running off and leaving the Command Room!
？！
The hostile entity should reach the Border in fifty meters! Putting up visual now!
Grr, they must think they're hot stuff. Their vehicle must have impressive suspension if they're heading straight at us, though...
I didn't think Russia had any race cars like that around!
All right, where are you, you little leftover Oprichnik? Let's see what you look liWhat the ACTUAL HELL!?
That's not a vehicle! It's a person!
Someone is approaching on foot! Wait... That silhouette...!
Clergy vestments and a Lostbelt Servant reading... It's that priest! The one who calls himself Metropolitan Macarius...!
...I woke up when I thought I heard a voice calling me. It was a cold, almost brittle kind of voice.
Where...am I? I guess this means I'm still alive...
...!
There's a dull ache in the back of my head where I got pistol-whipped. He sure wasn't playing around.
...Goddamn cowboy. Shouldn't outlaws be cool and laid-back and all that?
...This shaking... Am I in a vehicle? This must be the Shadow Border...
I try to assess the circumstances as best I can in this dimly lit place. Looks like they took me prisoner.
They'd bound my hands, but now I can move around freely. The anti-magecraft cuffs they must have used on me are lying in pieces on the floor.
...Did I break them unconsciously, while I was out? No, I couldn't have. I know I'm not capable of that.
...Why are the cuffs so damn cold? Did something freeze them enough to turn them brittle?
Or maybe it's her farewell gift to me... Ugh. That the thought even entered my mind makes me sick.
I don't have time to get all sentimental. Now that I've failed, I don't have the right.
...'Course, that doesn't mean I'm going to waste this opportunity. If I'm gonna make a getaway...
Is someone attacking the Shadow Border from the outside...? But, the only ones who would do that are the Crypters...
Does that mean someone's here to rescue me? ...No. There's no chance of that.
They're here to shut me up. There's no other reason anyone would waste their time on a loser like me.
All right, I can't just sit around and wait for them to kill me.
First off, I've gotta find a way out of here. After that, who knows?
Escaping's all I can hope for now. Once that's done, I'll just have to see where the winds take me.
Dammit, there goes another one! What's the situation!?
Mash raised her shield just in time! That one barely did anything! Way to go, Mash!
Fou, fou!
The hostile Servant is still in pursuit on the Border's port side!
Wait, is he about to fire again!? How many rounds did he even bring with him!?
Grr, I just noticed the NFF Services marking on that thing! It must be one of Koyanskaya's weapons!
No wonder it was able to damage the magecraft armor!
That said...heh, it looks like that priest is all sermon and no rod. Like pearls before swine, so too gold before Musik, I suppose?
The only one who could properly handle a modern magecraft weapon like that is Koyanskaya hersel
Wait, what!? The hatch is open! Why is the hatch open!?
Goredolf, quick! Check the internal surveillance cameras!
I think someone opened the Border's hatch and got outside!
...!
There's someone on the starboard ramp...!
？！
What!? That can't be right! You expect me to believe someone is hanging off the side like this is some kind of action mov
Wait! That's Kadoc Zemlupus! Just how many adventure-crazed nuts are there around here!?
I thought there was something on us! The signal's headed toward the deck now!
Grr, so he's trying to take advantage of the confusion to escape, eh!? Come on, Fujimaru!
We're taking that hatch and going up there too!
Do not let Kadoc get away! I have a mountain of questions I still need to ask him!
Right...!
？！
...Tch. You, huh. Figures you'd show up.
You're looking a little less dazed now. Glad to see you're back to your usual happy-go-lucky nonsense.
Looks like you're back up and at 'em, too.
Yeah? Guess we've both been pushing ourselves to the limit. Takes its toll though, doesn't it?
I always felt the pressure before, but it's even worse now that it's gone.
Hell, I might as well have had a bag of feathers on my shoulders earlier, compared to now.
We both knew what we wanted to do, but we didn't really get it.
...Yeah. Patxi snapped me out of it.
I see... So that Yaga's dead now, huh.
I would've won if not for him. Guess that stupid speech of his was potent shit for you.
He was a thorn in my side, but even I gotta admit he was a hell of a guy. I won't repeat the mistake of writing someone like him off as a loser.
？！
Enough chitchat already, Zemlupus!
Get back inside the Border now, and I'll make sure you're treated fairly under international law!
Trust me, you don't want to be stupid and go jumping off a moving vehicle like this.
I can tell you from experience that you'll regret it! You'll end up dead and we'll have lost you.
Show me that you're willing to help us, and I'd be willing to put in a good word for you with the Association!
...Hmph. You don't have to threaten me. I thought there might be a lifeboat or something out here, but there's nothing.
Getting out here was a huge pain in the ass, and it looks like it was all for nothing.
Once, I might've jumped off just to spite you, but now...
Now, I've got a promise to keep. I can't go throwing my life away.
You want to interrogate me, right? Fine. I'll tell you everything you want to know.
That's a small price to pay for survival. At this point, I don't care what it takes to stay ali
Excellent. This makes my little insurance trip out here well worth it.
...!
T-t-turn around, you idiot!
Kadoc!
？！
Ras...putin... You...son of a...
Why, if it isn't Goredolf Musik. How nice to see you again.
You too, Master of Chaldea. Allow me to offer my congratulations on successfully taking down Russia.
Let go of him, right now...!
？！
I'm afraid I can't do that. I have my own concerns. You understand, of course.
My job was to oversee Kadoc Zemlupus's role as a Crypter, and that role has come to an end.
So I thought I would give him as merciful a send-off as possible.
...!
？！
(Grr, as if Da Vinci wasn't enough, now he's gone and stabbed Kadoc in the back too...!)
(As a gentleman, I'm honor bound to stop him, but my Gof Punch will never work on him...!)
(Dammit, where's Holmes when you need him!? I thought he was always supposed to be two steps ahead!)
Not to worry, Director Goredolf. Eliminating all of you isn't in my job description.
Russia is currently my sole jurisdiction, you see.
As such, I needed to handle this before you'd left the area entirely.
I hope you can forgive the necessity of my resorting to such drastic measures, unbefitting of my age though they are.
I'm afraid I lack Koyanskaya's ability to move between Lostbelts. I'm limited to getting around the same way you do.
As a middle manager of sorts, I'm not able to go to the next Lostbelt without the Foreign God's permission.
Foreign God...? Intriguing. Would you be so good as to tell us more, Metropolitan Macarius?
I'm sorry I'm late, Master! ...Huh? Kadoc...!?
Now then, I'd best be on my way. I hope you won't mind my saving the answer to your question for our next meeting, Sherlock!
Oh, but before I go, I would at least like to put a stop to this false name you've been using for me.
My True Name is Rasputin. Grigori Rasputin.
That said, I confess that this Spirit Origin doesn't belong to me. I'm simply borrowing it from a dead man.
I deduced all that long ago, my dear priest. My concerns are more fundamental in nature.
...Where did you acquire that dead man? In Proper Human History, Kotomine Kirei's body was cremated.
So how did you come to take possession of a dead man without a body?
Oh, I'm sure you'll figure that out sooner or later, Sherlock. That is, after all, what you do.
You once called the Incineration of Humanity a "mythological murder case."
In which case, go ahead and label this attack the same way. Ask yourself who committed this crime, and how.
Once you have arrived at that answer, we will meet again.
When that day comes, I look forward to you accusing the culprit in person.
Father KotomineI mean, Rasputin has made off with Kadoc!
What should we do, Senpai!? Maybe if we turn the Border around now
Don't bother. We'll never catch up, and we can't risk going back to Russia.
We'll just have to give up on interrogating Kadoc Zemlupus... This was my fault. I should have considered that someone may pursue us.
...Khh. Dammit, I can't believe I got knocked out again.
Sneaking up on people and stabbing them is kind of your thing, huh? I think my heart actually stopped for a while back there.
Indeed, it did.
If it hadn't, do you really think Holmes would have let us escape so easily?
No, if he had realized you were still alive, they would have come back to retrieve you. I couldn't let that happen.
Not after Kirschtaria asked me to bring you back to Olympus.
...Is that so. Well, it doesn't matter either way. You wasted your time, Rasputin.
Oh?
Whether Chaldea kills me, or Wodime does it, I'll be just as dead.
Now that I've failed, I don't belong with either of them. I'm just going to be an example to the other Crypters.
...
What? What is it? If you've got something to say, then spit it out, "Father."
Apologies. I was just thinking how much easier my job would be if Kirschtaria was that sort of person.
At any rate, it's clear what's going to happen to you.
You may have lost your right to run a Lostbelt, but you still have your Sirius Light.
That Command Spell belongs to our god. As long as you possess it, your life does not belong to you alone.
You no longer have the option of throwing your life away, Kadoc Zemlupus.
Your fate is to have every last bit of your soul squeezed out of you, until the day you die.