Souls To Be Equals in Due Course (II)

Fou, fooou!

We've arrived at the designated coordinates. ...We're immediately beneath Altartown, in the middle of the city.

We'll have to hoof it from here. Come on, everyone, get ready to leave.

I want to see you all ready to be out the door in thirtyokay, sixty seconds! Looks like you're already set, Mashie.

Uh, y-yes, I'm ready. I've already equipped the Ortinax.

？！

No problems here, either!

Hehe, I am a swordfighter, after all. I'm always expecting a fight to break out at any time.

So we're underneath Altartown, huh...

... ...

Adele, Macarios, can you tell us what this area of the city is like?

...This is right near where the gods reside.

Altartown sits in the center of Olympus, right beneath the Great Orbital Shrinethe bearer of the Cronus Crown.

There is a group of central shrines here that supervise all the branch shrines in the other districts, and the gods' Great Orbital Shrine lies directly above them.

It's the area of the city that's closest to Zeus.

So, we're right beneath enemy territory...

And on top of all that, these coordinates aren't that deep underground.

So the remains of Hades's protection are at their weakest here, while Zeus's protection is at its strongest.

It means we're at much greater risk than usual here, even if we are still in the underground.

That's right.

？！

We'd be fine if we were just a little farther down...

...but I'm guessing at this depth, we're gonna have to walk?

I'm afraid so.

It won't be too long of a trip, but there's nothing I can do about the depth issue.

Then we'll have to be extra careful. Don't forget, there could be autonomous weapons lurking around here too.

It'll be a major pain if one of them spots you, so if you see one before it sees you

Yeah?

...You'll need to run for it immediately, 'cause destroying it won't stop it from alerting the others.

Autonomous weapons?

You mean the Argos? ...No, wait. We already destroyed the Argos.

Ugh, ah.

Yeah, right. Good point. They must be talking about the mass destruction devices and Anti-Personnel eradicators.

They're all linked right up to Zeus's senses.

Zeus may not be able to see into the underground directly, but he can sense what his machines see.

Think of them as his eyes. They don't show up at the depths we normally hide the base, but...

...we're shallow enough now that they do show up. Watch yourselves around here!

Is that really an A.I.? I've never heard of one swapping between personas like that before.

Fou, fooou.

I'd say they're more like a trustworthy partner who keeps giving us plans of attack and secret weapons.

They've already helped us out a bunch so far... Hm.

So you noticed too, huh, samurai chick? Hey, isn't there a saying for this sort of thing?

Speak of the devil! Fujimaru! Mash!

Magical energy reading two hundred meters ahead! And as far as I can tell, there don't seem to be any other paths alongside this tunnel!

Our only choices are to meet it head-on, or to retreat... Master!

Dammit, this is exactly what I hate about this depth! Let's get out of here for now!

I'll look for another route before it notices us!

Ughhh, this is such a goddamn pain in the ass! Why can't we just kill this thing and keep moving!?

Don't you think we would if we could!? Dammit, just get back for now and

Don't worry. Everything is fine. I've severed this device's connection to Zeus's neural network.

To simplify matters for the Chaldeans, it's no longer online.

Well, that's not entirely true. I threw in some hacks so it'd still seem like it was online.

The point is, you don't need to worry about leaving it intact.

...Well, that's the best news I've heard all day.

Just when I thought our only choices were to run or hide, now we have a much, much better one!

Whoever you are, I'm going to assume Lady Kannon sent you and trust that you're here to help!

How about you, Fujimaru?

？！

Are you serious!?

You made that call faster than I thought. It's the right one, too. Just trust in your intuition and keep going.

Initiating Ortinax combat mode. ...Hostiles are one hundred meters away. Preparing to engage in battle!

Hostile has been silenced

Wait! I'm picking up another magical energy reading one hundred meters away! Heading straight for us at high speed!

Seems to me like another one of them happened to find us, rather than that last one calling for reinforcements! I'm fine taking it on, but how do the rest of you feel!?

Ha! How do I feel? I feel I could take a couple hundred of these things without breaking a sweat!

Let's do this!

Rrraaaaaah!

All hostiles down!

I don't see any other hostiles in the area. And the healing Authority doesn't seem to be working on their remains, either!

'Course not. Not with me here.

That bastard Zeus might've taken over Demeter's Authority, but these things aren't gonna be instantly healing themselves as long as I'm around.

I can't say what's gonna happen once we leave, but at least you won't have to worry about 'em while I'm here.

Man, reassuring you punks. Shit's pretty messed up if that's what I'm doin'...

I must be getting soft in my old age! Hrah!

...It was already destroyed. Did you really need to hit it again?

Mind your own damn business.

'Sides, didn't you once chop a guy's head off after you'd already taken him down?

Oh, that? That was just me tying up loose ends.

Loose ends? You serious?

The battle is over, Master. You did great.

By the way, um... About that giant hand we fought towards the end...

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Y-yes. It looked just like the one we've seen in the simulator.

From what I've been told...

...it's been a mock enemy archetype in Chaldea's combat simulator since the simulator first began operating.

We've also encountered similar-looking hostile entities near the leylines of some Singularities.

It's still unclear exactly where their design comes from.

Fou fou, fou.

Yup, it sure was a big hand.

Fo.

Damn, and here I thought that was my chance to pet him...

Okay, everyone, great work. Sure, I may not have helped, but it was a good show!

So, shall we be going then?

Oh, then again, maybe we should just ask the owner of this little hideout for directions.

The owner?

...Yes, that's fine with me.

Of course, my secret workshop is just up ahead, so you don't have much farther to go.

Just keep going straight ahead. Don't worry. The door's unlocked.

Welcome, God Destroyer Alliance and Chaldea, to my Great Prometheus-Hephaestus Workshop.

!

Fo...!?

？！

Yes, a version of me was destroyed, but that was more of a backup version of the me which resides here.

Didn't that version of me tell you that another version existed back before it met its end?

Th-that's right, you did! You said there was another, separate unit of you here in Olympus.

There you go. I am that separate unit.

Though strictly speaking, maybe I should say I'm more of a transcendent unit.

Anyway...this is very intriguing.

It sounds like you've come across my hands, even in Proper Human History.

Your hands?

Fou, fou fou!

Aha! That giant hand was yours!? Well, being one of the Twelve Olympians' own hands explains why it was so huge!

？！

Oh, no, not mine. I'm sorry if my choice of words confused you.

They're replicas of my hands from back when I was just Prometheus, before I became Prometheus-Hephaestus.

It seems the version of methat is, Prometheusfrom Proper Human History was bestowing wisdom and experience on you. What a fascinating connection!

Right... Prometheus, the god of wisdom, is said to have give humanity the gift of fire!

Then, the enormous hand-shaped enemy we've been known to encounter in the Chaldean combat simulator is

Prometheus's hand of wisdom.

Here in this Lostbelt, it's only the remains of my former self...

...but in Proper Human History, I'm sure it's doing everything it can to aid humanity in its time of crisis.

...!

I... I don't know what to say, except...

...thank you!

？！

Not at all. After all, that was my Proper Human History self, not me.

Now, go on. This may not be quite the reunion you had in mind, but you are welcome in my workshop, nonetheless...

...you who continue to defy the gods.

There's definitely something...similar here...

...that reminds me of the temple remains we saw in Atlantis...

Fou, fou fou.

Does this mean this whole workshop is actually your brain...

...Prometheus-Hephaestus?

That's right; it is. In one sense, I suppose it's been a long time, Chaldeans.

As for you, God Destroyer Alliance, it's nice to meet you.

...Same here.

It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, O god of knowledge. I mean, god of the forge

Don't worry, either is fine. In my current state, I'm both neither and, well, both.

？！

Don't worry about that. If my speech patterns sound different here, it's because Prometheus's brain is the primary operator for this facility.

In that sense, I suppose I really did die once.

Or at least, the data-based intelligence that called itself Hephaestus did.

In Proper Human History, Prometheus was said to be the god of knowledge who bestowed wisdom upon humanity.

Presumably here in this Lostbelt, you managed to survive by fusing with one of the gods who fell in the Olympia Machia?

That's right. I fused with Hephaestus, who had been taken prisoner after the machia ended.

...Hmm.

It seems I wasn't able to disclose such top secret information in Atlantis...

...but I take it you're sharing all your information with the alliance? That's a wise decision, Chaldeans.

Yes, well, I'm afraid we have precious little to share in that regard when it comes to the Lostbelts. Indeed, we are practically starved for information.

So it would seem.

Umm, I haven't really been following this side of things too closely...

...but does this mean you're the God Destroyer Alliance Collaborator we've been hearing so much about?

I am collaborating with the alliance, yes.

Hmm, hmm. Then, in that case, I have to thank you for saving our bacon.

The Seven Link Heroic Spirit Cannon really helped us out a ton.

It might not have been enough to let us win with it alone, but we definitely couldn't have won without it.

I'm sure we're definitely going to need the Grand Summon Article we're about to take off your hands, too.

Pardon me. If I might, there is still one more thing I'd like to know.

Oh?

The first time we encountered the gods of Olympus, we were saved in part by a kind of dissonant noise.

I noticed it interfered directly with Olympus's independent god-made leyline, and therefore seemed quite effective against the gods...

Ahh, so you noticed that, did you?

And since neither Macarios nor Adele seem to possess such a thing, I can only conclude that it belongs to you.

Tell me, would we be able to borrow it from you?

Hahahahaha.

Don't bother. That ain't ever gonna work on 'em again.

I mean... Ahem.

That was a special Mystic Code that built on the heroic Orpheus's musical magecraft. Unfortunately

Now that we've used it once, we can never use it again. It's just like our smoke screens.

It might not be completely useless anymore, but it won't ever work that well again.

...I see.

I didn't realize you'd been using such valuable things to help us.

It's okay, Mash. It had to be done.

Adele...

Fou fou!

Aah! Wh-what is it?

That little fur ball just wants to jump on you! Get away from her, fur ball!

Oh my, what's got into you, little one? Develop a weakness for pretty faces in the short time since we last met?

Fou!

？！

Well, I wouldn't say I'm "alive" so much as I "synched up with my backup unit," but thank you.

For the time being, I can promise you this unit is running just fine, Fujimaru.

In the meantime, I'm both proud and impressed that you all made your way here to Olympus.

？！

In Atlantis, you defeated Artemis and Poseidon. In Olympus, you've defeated Demeter and Aphrodite.

Now that you have triumphed over so many mechanical gods, you are practically at Zeus's throat.

...What you have accomplished so far is nothing short of amazing.

There's just one more thing I'd like to ask you. Did Aphrodite say anything about me?

Well...

In Proper Human History's mythology, Aphrodite was the goddess of love and beauty, as well as Hephaestus's wife.

I gather from your question that you had a similar relationship with her in this Lostbelt?

...That was a long time ago.

At this point, I'm just a mind without an Aletheia. I don't blame you for killing my wife at all.

But, however she may have changed after the Olympia Machia, she is still the woman I once loved.

...She was very loving herself, once.

... ...

？！

I see.

Now then, about the Grand Summon Article...

Damn, he sure moves on quick!

'Course he does.

Nn...

Forget cold-blooded; these things don't even have blood. Just 'cause they might look human sometimes doesn't mean they are.

And just like people'll never know what it's like to be a beast, no god'll ever know what it's like to be human.

And if one did, they'd be an exception among exceptions! Really, these things are just overgrown piles of junk that happen to know a thing or two thanks to their Authority.

Doesn't matter if they're a god that sprung up all natural and shit from Earth, or a mechanical god that came from space.

They're all nothing more than containers for the huge-ass power we call Authority!

So yeah, of course this guy's gonna be quick as hell to move on!

You think the sea can ever know how a person feels? Or a freaking storm?

...'Course not. And there you have it.

Caenis. You must be the one who gained Poseidon's protection.

Come now, there's no reason we can't be friendly.

I'll admit that Poseidon could certainly behave in... less than admirable ways, but

Don't you talk to me about him!

Just hurry the hell up and give us this summon thing already, you pile of scrap!

Once you hand it over, I'll end your miserable life and we can all be on our merry way! Now hurry up and

Well some little punk's feelin' grumpy today. Didn't get a full lunch or something?

If ya need a quick meal to fix yourself up, you can take mine.

Oh, and watch that spear of yours. You could poke somebody's eye out with that thing if you ain't careful.

!?

You...!

You touched my spear, didn't you!? What the hell are you!? An Assassin? ...No, that's not right!

(Who is that? And how did they sneak up on Caenis like that!?)

(I don't sense any bloodlust or hostile intent... but something about this guy feels familiar!)

？！

Y-yes, Senpai! But, I'm positive there wasn't anyone else here up until a moment ago

What is this feeling!? Whoever this guy is, he's no ordinary Heroic Spirit...

What the hell are you!?

Me?

This here's the god of the forge's workshop. 'Course you're gonna need a smithy to work it.

Fact is, I was just in the middle of castin' something for that old "pile of scrap," as you put it.

So, who're you? A customer?

If you are, then you oughta know to mind your manners. I don't do business unless I hear a "please" and "thank you."

In the meantime, why don'tcha put that big stick of yours away?

It ain't a bad piece of work. No sense in wasting it on some old geezer like me.

？！

Oh my, now that's quite a big name. I wouldn't say "geezer" fits by any means, either.

Wait, Pepe! We've seen him before!

That's Senji Muramasa, an Alter Ego! He's a Heroic Spirit who helped Senpai back in Shimousa, and now...

...he's one of the Foreign God's Disciples!

!

Senji Muramasa, hmm.

Fou!?

Eesh. Maybe this is my payback for spending my whole life in the forge.

Sure, I always had faith in the Tsumukari, but that alone don't explain how I ended up an Alter Ego.

Now I'm a glorified errand boy for something called the Foreign God, and if that weren't bad enough, it's made me an enemy of goddamn humanity itself. If it weren't so damn tragic, it'd almost be funny.

Well, at least I got to meet a true god of the forge outta this deal...

...though my excitement sure tapered off when he turned out to be a half-fossilized gizmo! Hell, he's more like an old man who's just been around 'bout as long as most gods!

You know, there's something really sad about an already old man calling you an old man. Does smithing skill just have to come with a foul mouth?

Hey now, didn't mean anything by it. How 'bout I give that bald head of yours a good polish to make it up?

I am not bald.

Um... Master, he seems to be... Uh...

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...So you're one of the Foreign God's Alter Ego Disciples, huh?

The Muramasa I knew used to complain about materializing as a Saber...

...so I guess you made up for it by being an Alter Ego this time? You sure get around for an old guy.

So...what are you actually doing here? Is it just a coincidence we ran into you, or is it maybe more than that?

You here lying in wait to take care of Chaldea for getting in the Foreign God's way or something?

...You know, that's a good question.

I want to honor my mentor's requests, but I also can't ignore my duties as a Disciple of the Foreign God.

So, do I settle things now, or should I be on my way... What do you think, Chrome Dome?

Hmm... (Chrome Dome?)

So, Muramasa, my very last apprentice, and Chaldea, the ones who carry on my Proper Human History self's hopes...

...share a bond even I couldn't predict, hmm. As the god of knowledge, I find this fascinating...

...but it seems it has the Chaldeans on edge. Not that I can blame them, given they're up against another god.

Right? Plus, that Zeus fellow said I gotta cut 'em in two and serve 'em up as an offering if I came across them...

...

(Alter Ego, Senji Muramasa...)

(No matter what he says about not lying in wait for us, he's still the Foreign God's Disciple, which makes him our enemy.)

(...I should probably think of him as a whole other Senji Muramasa, with a different Spirit Origin altogether from the one I knew, but...)

Hey, you. Tough-looking swordswoman.

You recognize this face or something? Don't tell me you knew this body's original owner.

Nah, that probably ain't it. I'm guessin' you just met me during a past materialization or something.

Well, whatever went on with that, I ain't got a single memory of it.

Still...I gotta thank you all the same.

You must've really liked me, seeing how you're keeping your hands off your swords even under these circumstances.

Haha, never would've thought a nioh like you'd go easy on an enemy standin' right in front of you.

Huh?

...?

Huh? Isn't he our enemy? Th-the hell'd he just say?

I-I believe he said...thank you...

Fou!

？！

Nope. Least not for now. But I ain't your ally, either, so don't go getting those lines mixed up.

...The hell? What's going on here?

No fighting? No killing? The hell do you get off saying that kinda shit after you already picked a fight!?

Me? I didn't pick no fight. I just warned you to take good care of that weapon of yours.

...(Sigh)

The hell's your deal, anyway? A kid who's old at heart? And you're in with Fujimaru and the samurai chick?

Ah, forget it. I don't know, I don't care, and I'm bored. Wake me up when things get interesting again.

I, too, know nothing of this man whatsoever.

True, I've never met a Heroic Spirit by his name before, either. He's definitely not like the other Alter Egos, though.

(Nodding simultaneously)

Fou fou.

You think I give a shit if you lot agree with me or not!? Tch. I'm turning into my spirit form and going to sleep!

Hmm. Senji Muramasa, Alter Ego. I'd heard your name back in Atlantis...

...but I never would have guessed you'd remain neutral. Another fascinating phenomenon.

If an open discussion is on the table, Mr. Muramasa, there are a few things I would like to confirm with you.

For example...

...can we assume you won't be sharing your knowledge of our arrival here with the other Alter Egos?

Didn't I tell you? At this moment, I'm just another smithy.

I can't be bothered to worry 'bout anything else till I'm done with the job I signed on to.

I see. Well, we greatly appreciate that.

...Hold up.

Hey, you! The one hiding in the shadows! Who might you be!?

I can tell you aren't even trying to erase your presence, so why don't you come out and say hi already!?

Hoot, hoot, hoot!

A mechanical owl! And it's the same model Kadoc had with him!

That must also be the device that was used to set off Orpheus's spell.

But it would seem its master today is neither Kadoc nor Peperoncino.

Yes, that's right.

That sacred owl has been entrusted to me.

Good day, Chaldeans and members of the God Destroyer Alliance. I believe this is our second time meeting in person.

I am Europa.

I am shrine maiden and queen to Zeus, ruler of this Interstellar Mountainous City of Olympus...

...and the God Destroyer Alliance's Collaborator.