Section 16 - 2 Node Recollection Quest (3/3)

We win! Xiang Yu! You may. Be advanced. But you are also. Alone.

Your storms. May make. You invincible. But you have. No rivals. With which. To compete! Your strength. In fighting. Alone is. What sealed. Your defeat!

Ghh...!

Lord Xiang Yu!

Hah, no way in hell we're losin' to your overgrown horse's ass three times in a row!

I am Mordred, the damn Knight of Treachery. If you think you read my future, then I'll just rebel against that shit too!

H-hey! Yuie! What are you trying to pull here!?

Why haven't you removed Mayall's disguise yet!? What possible reason could you have to hold back now!?

Shut up... Shut up!

...What is the meaning of this?

Qin Shi Huang!? Of all the times for the emperor to show up!

How did you get to our treasury in the short time we were absent?

We must have taken longer to reboot than we realized. That is vexing.

...

Oh no. If the emperor is here, then Jing Ke must be...

(Now how are things going to go? ...If Qin Shi Huang reconciles with Chaldea, I'll be right back to square one.)

(Well, there was never much to gain from this Lostbelt, anyway. It won't be any great loss.)

Yep, Hinako. If it makes you feel any better, you were absolutely right.

I should honor my agreement with the Foreign God, and see my job through to the end.

So I'll go ahead and have the Tree of Emptiness take care of Chaldea right now.

No! P-please, stop!

Go on then, Mayall, it's time to wake up! Show this tiny Lostbelt what your cosmos is really made of!

What the... Why is the Fusang Tree splitting apart!?

Foooooou!

Whaaaaaa!?

Oh yeah... That's a Tree of Emptiness if I ever saw one!

I knew I was correct in my supposition, but I never expected anything quite like this.

A-are you sure that's a tree!? It's the size of a mountain!

How did something that big fit inside a bunch of dried up twigs all this time!?

Qin Liangyu told us that the Fusang Tree was a treasure trove of hidden Mystic wisdom, also known as the "Tree of Life."

But there are no ordinary means for such a vast amount of information to fit inside a single tree.

That tree from the sage world must either contain some sort of independent dimension, or

Shut up and get back! The spatial inconsistency is trying to correct itself, and it's warping gravity all around it!

Teehee, the Tree of Emptiness has been slurping up pleeenty of magical energy from inside the Fusang Tree's pocket dimension.

It didn't even have to reveal itself out here to extend its roots throughout all of China's leylines!

Ah... Ah...

The Fusang Tree... The divine tree that sits at the heart of our empire! All this time, it was being co-opted by invaders...

The Tree of Emptiness... So that impossible mythology does exist...

Then...does that mean Akuta and the fox woman were telling the truth all along!?

Of course. This world was pruned away, and the one the Chaldeans belong to is in fact Proper Human History.

The nations you brought together... Your visions of everlasting peace... None of it was meant to exist.

Your entire history for the last two thousand and two hundred years was never more than a pipe dream.

So, how does that make you feel? Sad? Dejected? Utterly crushed with abject despair?

...Hehehe. Hahahahaha! Do not be ridiculous. This is wonderful news!

Huh?

Thanks to our greatness, our eternal empire exists right here, right now.

After all, dreamers cannot distinguish between dreams and reality. For them, they are one and the same.

So if the world is about to dream again...who can say if your corrupt, ruined society, or our prosperous world, is the one that truly exists!

Oh, I get it! Like whether I'm a Lu Bu who thinks he's Red Hare, or a Red Hare who thinks he's Lu Bu.

When you get right down it, it doesn't really matter!

Would you just shut it, horse? We're trying to have a serious conversation here.

N-no way. Qin Shi Huang's self-esteem is off the charts...! I swear, this is exactly why I hate you so much! You ARE the "ideal" human aren't you!?

Well, obviously. Qin Shi Huang's been an emperor for over two thousand two hundred years, remember?

He's probably overcome all sorts of things in that timeHe's practically impervious to despair by this point!

Very well then. The victor here will determine the true history. No matter how many other branches there are, we will prune them all away!

...!

...Ohhh, now I see. So this is what you were afraid of, huh, Yuie?

You knew that Qin Shi Huang would get fired up once it was clear the Pruning Theoretical Phenomenon was true...

...so you decided to keep the Tree of Emptiness secret until the very last moment.

Is that so? Hmph, you thought this through. And we certainly fell for it.

You knew it was pointless to lie to an omniscient, omnipotent ruler.

So instead, you were perfectly honest about it all, knowing Qin Shi Huang would never believe a word.

By hiding the evidence that would validate your story, you were able to turn fact into fiction.

You must have really, really wanted to prevent Qin Shi Huang from learning the truth.

But, why...?

Why were you so desperate to keep Qin Shi Huang from acting?

Fooou...

You really are hopelessly foolish, Akuta. You would go that far to avoid war, hm?

You knew we would employ Xiang Yu in the war to be recorded as this planet's rightful history...

...so you wasted your time delaying the inevitable.

...

To think you would choose such small comfort even in the face of certain destruction!

So this is the nadir of foolishness to which love has driven you!

...Um, is it just me, or...?

...Yes. It is. Descending swiftly.

Naturally, I will not be taking your foolish, selfish wishes into consideration.

This will be a battle for the future of humanity. Those of you who are not human can stay out of it!

Uh-oh!

Dammit! I knew this jackass was gonna fall on us! Which one of you dumbasses said this wouldn't happen!?

Fooou, fou!

Oh, dammit! This is what I have to deal with now that the king knows the truth about Lostbelts!?

Yuie refuses to help, Qin Shi Huang's out of control...!

There's clearly nothing to be gained here anymore! I'm out of here! I'm going back to the office!

Hey, she got away!

Fou, fooou!

Forget her! We've all gotta get out of here!

Mayall, the Tree of Emptiness, was it? We shall grant you our protection.

We shall descend from on high...the most powerful guardian ever to exist!

...Hang on. Where exactly is it going to land?

(Cough, cough)... Wh-what the!?

Epang Palace has fallen... Is everyone all right?

I thought for sure the emperor was going to fall right on top of us. Did Qin Shi Huang just miss...?

Such foolish notions hardly deserve to be given voice. We acted only out of generosity.

Chaldeans of Proper Human History, we are about to enter into contest as to which of us truly embodies what it is to be human, as well as over the direction in which mankind should proceed.

Settling this dispute simply by making use of our mass would resolve nothing.

...So, rather than destroy us in order to protect the empire, you want to converse with us about who should have the right to determine the future?

Why would you make that kind of concession now...?

You need ask!? We are the emperor. We care first and foremost about humanity's future.

We must...grudgingly admit that our empire was indeed pruned away from history.

However, we cannot ignore that Proper Human History was so weak as to be so easily wiped out, even as you advanced the Chronicle Theoretical Phenomenon!

History is woven together through human will; its course is no mere coincidence.

Thus, the one who leads the Chronicle Theoretical Phenomenon must be the stronger, superior human!

...Someone is coming out of Epang Palace! Is that...a person?

It is. The ultimate human form. It has overcome death, transcended yin and yang, and reached the truth of immortality. This is the only Zhenren in existence.

This is Qin!

A human form...!?

But...I thought the emperor was a giant machine, like in those movies about interstellar warfare!

(...That isn't the only surprise. That Spirit Origin is less strong than it is...great...)

(In Proper Human History, it would be ranked Grand. So then...why is the emperor a Ruler!?)

We grew this body by applying the eclosion ascension method we learned by analyzing the Fusang Tree...

...to the physiological data we collected from Akuta Hinako.

We had not planned on actually using it, but our discussion with Jing Ke changed our mind.

If we are to prove our path for humanity is superior to Proper Human History's, then we must do so in a human body.

Your path for humanity...?

Should humanity prioritize safety in stagnancy, or growth, which is inextricably entangled with risk?

The question of which humanity is best suited to lead Earth from the Chronicle Theoretical Phenomenon can no longer be decided with words alone.

Thus, we will decide this matter by punching you! We shall also permit you to punch us in return!

Whomever remains standing in the end shall be the one entrusted with the hopes of the future!

The hopes of...the future...

Fou, fooou!

We are the ultimate human! There is only one of us!

Whereas you, Fujimaru, are but one of many humans from your world.

Whichever one of us is stronger shall be the one to face Earth's next great challenge. We trust you agree there can be no fairer way to settle our dispute?

Well, how about that. You're a damn sight more reasonable than I gave you credit for.

Putting aside that Qin Shi Huang only came to this because both sides refuse to consider the other's position...

...I quite agree that we should accept this offer.

There can be no better way to determine who is more fit for these chaotic times. This is how contests of power should happen.

...Master...

？！

？！

Right! As members of the Chaldea Security Organization... No...

As humans representing our own world and history...we agree to your terms, Qin Shi Huang!

Hehehe. Good. With that firm gaze and fighting spirit, you should make a foe well worth crushing with these two hands.

Now, come at us with all your might, members of humanity's masses! We shall test you ourself!