Go, Beyond the Twilight

And so, the Scandinavian Lostbelt was saved...

The Shadow Border drove off into the sunset...and they all lived happily ever after.

...It would sure be nice if that's how it went, wouldn't it? Nothing is ever so easy, though.

Um, excuse me. You're not from this village, are you?

I guess...it's nice to meet you?

Oh yes, likewise. That's right; I came from outside the big gate.

But don't worry. There's no way the giants are getting in here.

Oh yes. I know that!

You wouldn't happen to be friends with Lady Mash, Mr. Fujimaru, Mr. Napoleon, and that beautiful envoy, would you?

If you are, that makes you my friend, too!

Is that how that works? Then yes, I guess that does make us friends.

It's nice of you to say that. But, you should step back a bit, before you get hurt.

Huh?

In fact, you should go back inside. And tell the others to do the same.

O-okay...

Go on, hurry.

A-all right. But what about you?

I'll be fine. Now go! Quickly!

Okay!

...Phew. There we go.

Now then...time for a little magecraft camouflage.

A great Tree of Emptiness, stretching towards space...

So, it altered its existence again. Hmm, or maybe it's more like it was replanted?

I guess Surtr didn't swallow the entire tree. Looks like he left most of its roots in the ground. And then, since the trunk wasn't completely cut down either...

...Correct.

That Tree of Emptiness must have connected to its roots via a spatial distortion within Surtr's body.

How bizarre. Even I would struggle to accomplish such a thing.

Yet for this massive tree, it is but one more means to ensure its survival.

I wonder, just where do these Trees of Emptiness come from...

Have you not thought the same, Chaldeans of Proper Human History?

...We have.

There's still so much we don't know about them.

But I guess that's true for you too, Scáthach-Skadi.

You grew it despite not even knowing what it really was...all so you could cover a world without humanity.

What of it?

I will do whatever I must to protect my world. That should be abundantly clear by now.

The same is true of you as well, Chaldeans of Proper Human History. Myself...

...I have always taken responsibility for deciding who to love, and who to kill.

!

You may put your eyes back in their sockets. This is merely the bridal gown I never had a chance to wear.

Now, it is the only thing I have that comes close to battle dress.

N-no, it's not that...

She isn't a Servant, so her body isn't made out of ether. That means...

？！

It's an Ascension of her very existence. So even the Heroic Spirit enhancement method Chaldea's summoning system employs is another tool she can wield freely.

They certainly do not exaggerate when they say gods are to be feared.

Hehe. Feared, you say?

Now that you have defeated the Fiery King of Giants, I must see you as the true monsters, Chaldeans.

Really? It looked to me like we had to scrounge together every last bit of help we could find, and even then only just barely eked out a victory...

...but I guess that's not how you saw it, Scáthach-Skadi.

Da Vinci is right! We could never have hoped to defeat Surtr all on our

Exactly.

That is exactly what is so frightening. You walked a razor's edge to accomplish the impossible, without even making an ally of the Counter Force.

Then again, perhaps that is due to your forming so many bonds here...

...despite opportunities to do so in my land being so thin on the ground.

... ...

...Your Majesty.

Silence. Do not weaken my resolve. Whenever you speak, you evoke images of Proper Human History's myths.

But there are no such myths here. I have no such storied past.

This is the only world where my Scandinavia exists. I am sure you cannot think of it as home.

If you were to take up residence here...

...then I could continue to love you as your god, your queen, and your mother...

...But that can never be.

You will no doubt continue your journey. You always have, and you always will.

You will destroy the Lostbelts in order to restore your own world.

So, say no more. It would make no difference.

At least allow me one last word, Your Majesty.

Everything you say is correct. You are walking the path you must follow, just as we are.

I only wish it didn't have to come to this. That we might have walked together, rather than separately.

Indeed. But that can never be.

Ortlinde.

You called, my Goddess and Protector?

What will you do? You are free to choose whichever side you prefer.

I will follow my mind wherever it takes me.

Just as Brynhild, Thrúd, Hildr...

...and now, you, have said to.

You are Scáthach-Skadi, the one who inherited this land from my father. I will fight by your side of my own free will.

...What is your command?

Prepare for battle. We will protect this tree with our lives.

Understood.

Do you hear that, Chaldea? Can you hear the cries of those birds flapping their wings overhead?

Should you defeat me and cut down the tree...I shall tell you what they truly are.

...N-nn. I don't suppose there's any way we can avoid this battle?

Nope. Not a chance. And this won't be the last time this sort of thing happens.

It's just like she said. We have to take responsibility for what we're doing.

You understand that, right, Mash? Fujimaru?

？！

...We have.

Let me ask you this:

How many humans live in your Proper Human History? Several million? Tens of millions? Hundreds...?

Then again, I suppose if one includes the lives of flora and fauna, they would be innumerable.

I see. So that is the responsibility you shoulder as you seek to end my Lostbelt. Hmm.

...?

...Very well.

Then for the love I bear for my ten thousand subjects...

...I will take those millions...billions... That unfathomably vast number of lives...with my own hands!

I will NOT let this miracle wither away!

Miracle... I see. So that's how you think of this land.

For you, this Lostbelt, and the approximately three thousand years it has known peace, is truly a miracle, isn't it, Your Majesty?

Then you know. You've known all along.

You are fully aware that this Lostbelt's existence is both abnormal and unnatural.

What's more, you knew so well before the Crypter came along and informed you of Proper Human History.

You knew...? Even before you knew about Proper Human History!?

Hehe. ...It seems I cannot put anything past you, wise sage.

Perhaps those piercing eyes of yours in fact surpass Odin's? Mystic Eyes, perchance? ...No, that is not it. They merely reflect your wisdom born of human history's cumulative accomplishments.

Yes, you are right. I knew everything.

...It was supposed to be pruned away.

My Scandinavia, my world, the path my people have walked, was destined to disappear from human history.

We were not to perish in a Ragnarok gone mad. We had already survived those days of flame.

Those days may have ended once the gods had sacrificed themselves to transform Surtr into the false sun...

...but we precious few lives that remained found ourselves in a world that had lost far too much.

Even so, we did our best with what we had. After much struggle and suffering, we began to build a new life.

And then, human historyhumanityerased us.

It had all been for nothing.

My love, my hopes, my wishes, my dreams...all of them were gone.

All in less than half a year after Surtr had been sealed away, and his broken Ragnarök stopped...

...humanity decided my land where humans and gods live together did not deserve to exist.

As far as human history was concerned, the path we were taking after surviving the flames was evil.

...But then, something unexpected happened.

An impossible three thousand years came and went.

I do not know whether the Tree of Emptiness was responsible for that paradox...that miracle.

But what I do know...is that my land was reborn on this planet, in the modern day!

It was a feat greater than any Authority could accomplish! A miracle neither I nor Odin could achieve!

And so I cannotI will not let that miracle fade away!

If I must take unfathomable numbers of lives to preserve it, then so be it! I shall consider each and every one my sworn enemy!

...Your Majesty.

Silence! No more talk! Consider this lament my declaration of war!

Three thousand years, and still I remain powerless to support more villages beyond those created in that first six months...

All this time, and I have still only saved a hundred villages, a mere ten thousand humans!

I cannot even let any of them live to old age!

For my love and snow can only extend my Authority to the point before the first signs of spring arrive!

...!

Haha. Indeed, that Archer spoke the truth.

This Lostbelt has no future. No tomorrow.

Though it may be peaceful, free of conflict and evil...

...it will never be any more than that. It has no power to change, to develop.

No doubt this pathetic state of affairs will continue for thousands upon thousands of years.

...

My love...is not enough... Spring will never come... Life will never flourish...

...But I will not give up! I will never simply resign myself to this fate!

For three millennia, I have devoted my power to suppressing Surtr's fires!

But now! Now that Surtr is gone from this Lostbelt...

...my power should suffice to bring hope to my land. So I withdraw my love, and instead offer you death!

...Fo, fou!

If you would save your humanity, then kill me! Kill me, and cast us aside, Chaldeans of Proper Human History!

？！

Raising Ortinax output. Switching to combat mode. Bunker bolt, standing by!

Preparing to engage this Lostbelt's king, Scáthach-Skadi, and commencing demolition of the Tree of Emptiness!

Well done...

To think I would lose so...decisively...

I could not even protect Ortlinde...

Ahh. I knew it. I was far too weak to serve as queen.

...I don't understand.

Why didn't you tell us you had barely recovered any magical energy after our battle with Surtr?

Why did you fight us while you were so weakened, and we were completely healed?

What about the death rune...?

You could have inscribed the same spell into us that Surtr used, but...

My pride would not permit it. I am obligated to protect this land and all the lives that dwell within.

I must heal the wounds Surtr inflicted upon this land. I must repair the village he destroyed, and treat those whom he injured.

I never had much magical energy to spare...

...for my battle with you. Hehe.

Ahh, there they are. Look up at the sky, and I shall tell you those birds' names.

They are the holy ravens who served Odin.

Odin's familiars!? Th-then, they must be Huginn and Muninn, two of the greatest familiars to ever exist!

They're legendary Divine Beasts named after thought and memory who were said to look upon the whole world every morning...

Cursed Odin... He may have kept giving me chances, right to the end...

...but it seems he had Huginn and Muninn guide all of you as well. Haha... How very...like him...

He never was...willing to guide me...

...Allow me to offer you one last gift, Chaldeans.

I shall tell you the name of the Tree of Emptiness that was meant to take root in my Lostbelt.

It is called...Sombrero.

Hehe. As one who lived through the Age of Gods, that name means nothing to me...but perhaps it will mean something to you, stargazers of Proper Human History.

Now go, Chaldeans.

As you have defeated us...

...you must cross the ocean of dead ice and flame, and the countless corpses of our hopes and dreams...

...and be on your way.

Okay, so, I'm not too sure what's going on...but I think we'll all do just what we're told...

You see, this morning, an envoy gave us a message from the Goddess.

She said we should all go back to our homes and go to sleep, even though it's not nighttime.

And once we do, we'll never wake up again.

She said not to be afraid. It's just what we have to do to fix all the damage that huge giant caused.

And if the Goddess said so, it must be true.

Still...

When I think about Lady Mash, and Mr. Fujimaru, and Mr. Napoleon...

...and the beautiful envoy...and Mr. Chub...and Fou...and how...

...well...

Once I fall asleep, I'll never get to see them again, right?

Thinking about that makes me...

Makes me...

...

...I don't know.

It's so strange... I don't know what to call it...

It's like...there's something squeezing my heart...and it makes me want to cry.

Isn't that weird? I'm not even hurt anywhere.

There they go. Goodbye, Shadow Border.

Safe travels. I hope fortune is kind wherever you go.

I'm a Pseudo-Servant using a human body as a host. I shouldn't be able to disappear when this Lostbelt goes away...

... ...

I guess this is Stepmother's doing.

How strange. I already miss her a bit, even though she's not my real mother. Maybe Freyja's influence.

Then again, she wasn't a bad person... I wish I could've talked with her a little more.

Perhaps that's why I miss her. Yeah, that must be it.

All of you Valkyries did great delivering Stepmother's last commandment. Thanks for all your help.

I know your master is gone...but I hope you can rest easy now. See you later.

Um...

I just wanted to introduce myself again. Your name's Mash Kyrielight, right?

Sorry to just barge in on you like this, but we never really got a chance to talk during the meeting.

That's all right. It's nice to meet you.

You too. My name's Ophelia Phamrsolone.

I remember. You're from the Clock Tower's Evocation Department.

Yes. That's my official department, anyway.

I guess it would be weird to say I'm kind of relieved, huh?

?

I mean, there just aren't many women on Team A, right? I don't have a problem with men or anything...

...but it's still a little nerve-racking to suddenly be surrounded by them when you're eating lunch...

I...see?

I'm sorry. I guess I rambled a little bit there, didn't I?

Would you, um...

Would you like to eat with us? Oh, and by us, I mean me and Pepe.

...Sure. If you don't mind my being there, I'd love to join you.

We're just about to leave Scandinavia behind entirely!

Looking at our current coordinates, we just passed the Sogne Fjord on the west of the Scandinavian Peninsula!

There should only be about twenty kilometers until we reach the North Sea! You sure about this!? I'm still not seeing any water at all!

...

...

...

？！

Gaaaaaah! Why've you all gotta be such downers!? I've seen more cheer at a funeral!

Look, I know how you all feel, okay? I'm just as bummed as the rest of you.

But that doesn't change the fact that SOMEONE'S still gotta step up and steer this thing! Now come on, Director! Are we going to the North Sea, or not!?

Er...right. The North Sea. Yes, that will do.

...(Sigh)

I hate to leave like this again...but what could I have said, even had I seen her before we left...?

I could not possibly wish her a long, happy life... But still, as an adult, I can't help but feel I should have said something to her...

Those flowers she gave me...her entire village... They're all going to disappear, just like Russia, aren't they...

？！

...

That is true. We know now that this is what it is to fight these Lostbelts.

They are hypothetical worlds that came to sudden ends after human history itself deemed them unnecessary.

Neither their inhabitants nor their civilizations did anything wrong. Their world simply differed from ours and eventually reached an impasse.

I would even say we were fortunate that Russia and Scandinavia were the first Lostbelts we encountered.

Why, you ask? Because the people who dwelled there were friendly to us, of course.

That alone has been a tremendous boon to our efforts. But, we cannot expect that good fortune to continue.

It is quite possible that in the next Lostbelt we encounter, we will find ourselves up against every living thing that inhabits it. We must be wary of such a worst-case scenar

Grrr, it isn't the future that has me depressed! Have you no heart, man!?

Even I understand what it is we need to do, and that no amount of wringing our hands will change that!

I know this is simply a competition for survival, where saving one side inevitably means destroying the other!

So...I see no harm in looking back on them a bit. After all, they don't have that luxury now.

I may be a cold-blooded aristocrat and the embodiment of elitism itself...

...but even I can't easily forget that we just wiped an innocent young girl out of existence...

Mr. Goredolf...

...I hate to say it, but he's right.

Maybe we just shouldn't get involved with these Lostbelt people at all if it's just going to turn out to be so depressing every time.

？！

The coward's way out. That is what you were going to say, isn't it, Fujimaru?

Don't go there, Meunière. Just because it's easier to kill someone you don't know doesn't make it right.

That's just avoidance. All you're doing is choosing not to face an unpleasant truth. That's not how war is meant to be fought.

You should only fight those you know well, otherwise you risk your moral compass losing its center.

Of course, everyone has their own way of facing their responsibility. In Fujimaru's case...

...I'd say he's the type to try and get to know his opponent as well as possible, so that he never forgets them.

So pretending not to see them is actually even harder than facing them directly...or rather, the price of doing so is your own humanity, huh.

Wait. Da Vinci!? What're you doing!? Don't you need to be operating the Border!? Or preparing a Zero Sail!?

Oh relax. Now that the Tree of Emptiness has been destroyed, the storm wall around this Lostbelt is gone.

We won't need to go Zero Sailing anytime soon.

Anyway, last we checked, the Wandering Sea should be somewhere in the North Sea, far from the coast. So let's just enjoy this road trip until

Hm? What's up with the alarm, Meunière?

Why're you asking me? If you don't know, how could you possibly expect me toWha...!?

The hell is this!? A spatial fault three hundred meters up ahead! It's showing up as blue on the map!

It's...it's the ocean! We're heading straight for the ocean!

Um... Mr. Meunière? I'm not really seeing what the big fuss is about...

Believe me, I wish I were kidding! Aw crap, I can't hit the brakes in time. Everyone, brace for impact!

Three, two, one... Get ready for a drop!

Ow, ow, ow. My aching back! It hasn't hurt this bad since my brakes failed on that hill!

What's going on here, Moony!? That felt like at least a ten-meter drop!

？！

Not now, boy! Hurry up and sit down before another impact throws us for

？！

Out the window...? What are you talking aboooOOOUT!?

D-d-did we drive into a whole other world when I wasn't looking!? It was nothing but clear skies as far as the eye could see just a moment ago!

Technical Advisor! Da Vinci!

J-j-just to be sure, the Border can navigate a real sea just as well as it can the Void Sea, right!?

You did design it for every conceivable scenario, didn't you? A stormy sea should be nothing compared to Void Space, right?

While we're on the subject, I have something of an announcement to make: I can't swim!

Okay, look, Gordy, traveling through Void Space and traveling through real water are completely different tasks that require completely different functionality.

The Border might be able to get through the Strait of Dover, but it was not designed to weather this!

Now, I've got an announcement of my own: I estimate the Border has about an hour until it sinks!

So back the hell up and get us back on land! NOW, Meunière! Come on, hurry!

Once we reach the coast, we can waterproof the Border better and wait until this storm dies down!

Yeah...just one problem! There's no land to go back to! We're smack in the middle of the North Sea!

Then...does that mean we're all going to end up fish food...?

Da Vinci, can we still initiate a Zero Sail here? Surely that must be preferable to sinking to our deaths?

We can't! The formulas won't be stable enough on water! We'd have to rewrite the software from scratch!

Ah dammit, we must be leaking somewhere! Hello, Tomlin? Are you in the kitchen right now?

Check the storage room, quickly! I think we've got a leak in there! Tell the rest of the staff, too!

Well...shit. Guys, there's no easy way to say this, so I'm just gonna say it.

Now don't freak out on me, buuut...it's looking like we're all gonna die.

And just when we'd proved we were badass enough to defeat Ivan the Terrible and Scáthach the goddess, too. D'oh☆

？！

You know, I feel like a spot of breakfast. I think I'll go fry up some seriously thick cut bacon right now. Mmm, deeelish.

Fou, fou!

... Hang on. We're getting a call!

Go ahead and open up a line, Mr. Meunière! And hurry! Da Vinci's no use to us right now!

R-right. On it!

CQ, CQ. This is the Wandering Sea's dock. Do you read me?

That vessel...that would be Chaldea's ship, right? No, wait, not a ship... Oh, I see! A tank!

Rational, yes, very rational! A ship is unnecessary for a Zero Sail. But, I say, you have no sense for design!

It might as well be a large metal coffin! Nothing charming there at all!

Be honest: you would never have made it back without my Paper Moon, would you?

Still, a fine job making it all the way here! Everything is proceeding within my calculations!

It's coming from the Wandering Sea! But, WHERE!?

Where? Right in front of you! ...Oh, hang on, let me clear the fog. It should be easier to see then.

Proceed on your current course, though you may want to reduce your speed. And be sure to give thanks.

All right... this will be the first time in over two thousand years that this island has revealed itself on a day other than December 31!

An island...!? And it was this close all along!? But I'm still not seeing anything on radar!

So it would seem... This is a Folklore Defense.

An imaginary world of the fairies, where fantasy is made manifest. A world that stands apart from our own.

In the modern day, it's a Mystic among Mystics, said to only be possessed by Ploy Kickshaws.

Oh? Is that the voice of a professor type on the same level as me I hear? Well that is a welcome development. We will get on just fine!

Welcome to the primordial magecraft workshop: The Baldanders of the Wandering Sea!

My name is Sion. Sion Eltnam Sokaris.

I am a Spiritron hacker who escaped to the Wandering Sea when I predicted that the world was about to end. I have been waiting for you.

Being the Atlas Institute's last remaining member, the Wandering Sea higher-ups entrusted me with the project of righting this bleached Earth problem.