Fate/Grand Order story · Part 2: Cosmos in the Lostbelt, Lostbelt No.5: Interstellar Mountainous City, Olympus
I Am the Thunder that Smites Stars (IV)
Lostbelt No.5: Interstellar Mountainous City, Olympus. Great Altar
4 scenes, 487 lines
1. Before the battle
177 lines
I'll let him...step on my shield...
...so I can push him up and throw him off balance with it! Caenis!
Ha! I can't believe you actually pushed the big lunk's heel off the ground! You're a hell of a lot stronger than you look, Kyrielight!
All right, my turn! Hraaaaaaaaah!
Now's my chance!
Ah...
Ahh... Ahhh...
My Talos... My poor Talos...!
I still remember...when my beloved gave him to me...
Ahh, Talos...!
Pardon me, Your Majesty.
Holmes!
？！
Not to worry, I merely put her to sleep by means of a pressure point. Surely you know by now that I would never take the life of a lady.
...That being said...
I have a feeling the omnipotent god in the room may not appreciate my chivalry. Or share it, for that matter.
Why?
Why did you not kill her? Have you forgotten that I ordered you to carry out Queen Europa's execution?
It is through my grace that you have been given this opportunity. All you need do is carry it out swiftly.
So I ask again: Why did you not kill her?
Is it because you still believe, even now, that humans are merciful creatures moved to help each other? Is that what you would claim?
...
...I
？！
I sure don't.
I wanna kill as many as possible! And I especially want to kill every last one of you Olympian gods!
That bastard Poseidon might be long gone by now, but you've still been pissing me off plenty, Zeus.
Now, it's your turn to die!
So why don't you dissolve back into your heavens and lightning until you're completely gone from this world!?
Caenis, who is blessed with Poseidon's Authority.
Despite being Kirschtaria's Servant, you refused to obey the gods or amend your foolish ways.
Ultimately, your arrogance led to your defeat at Chaldea's hands, followed by your purging at Dioscuri's.
That much, I foresaw. But your actions since then have been utterly incomprehensible.
How did you not disappear? Why do you stand with Chaldea?
How did... No, never mind. You must have been given a path along those lines to follow.
Impressive, Wodime. Indeed, now that I see this, I am hard-pressed to find fault with you.
You wanna know why I'm standing with Chaldea? 'Cause you Olympians are all freaking idiots!
Wantin' payback's perfectly natural, yeah? So that's what I decided to get for myself!
I see. So you say the gods' arrogance led to this situation, including your own destiny.
...What about you, Miyamoto Musashi? You are not a Heroic Spirit from Proper Human History.
You too have been cast out from an excised history, just like Olympus and the Lostbelts.
So why do you turn your sword against the gods?
Uh, because you're Chaldea's enemy? That's all the reason I need.
As for whether Proper Human History deserves to be called that, or if the Lostbelts have a right to exist...
...or which one's right and which one's wrong... frankly, I can't be bothered to care.
All I care about when I fight for another's sake is whether or not I can really, truly trust them.
That's just the kind of person I am. I'm a scoundrel at heart, after all.
And right now, I'm wielding my swords for my own sake.
To surpass the limits I've been trying to push up against my whole life.
I thought you might be the opponent I was looking for at first, Zeus, but now, I can see you're not.
You're not the ultimate destination my swords have been seeking. You're just a big obstacle on the way there.
You're the shower of sparks I need to brush aside if I'm gonna keep moving forward.
A shower of sparks...
So, that is what you would compare me to, swordswoman who travels with no destination? Me, the omnipotent god of the heavens?
Then tell me, while you are here in Olympus...
...What will you do when you are confronted with flames that threaten to consume your body and soul?
How will you defend yourself then? How will you continue to walk your own path?
I'll force my way through no matter what it takes, of course!
Be it the heavens, or lightning, or anything else, I'll cut down whatever blocks my path!
And right now, that path leads towards the Tree of Emptiness, far above our heads! ...No, towards Atlas, the World Tree, and the roots of cosmic fantasy!
And once I reach it...I'll cut down every last empty root it's got!
Oho.
How truly fascinating.
Humans. Heroic Spirits devolved from humans.
You all think in different ways.
You all carry different hopes and distress within your small, fragile bodies.
...Once, during the Leucusmachia about fourteen thousand orbits ago...
...IWe, managed to defeat the titanic shadow Sefar, the incarnation of ruin and death.
Yes, this worldour worldwas originally destined for ruin, and we saved it from that fate through our sheer strength.
But you, Proper Human History... You are neither ruin, nor gods.
You are not even ruin incarnate, nor the Divided Spirits that are the Gigantes.
No, you are much...much smaller than that.
You are weak. Infinitesimal.
So I ask you once again, humans of Proper Human History:
...Why?
...?
I must say, Zeus, for an omnipotent being, you certainly ask a great many questions. Is this your way of showing us compassion?
Or perhaps you are merely reaffirming information you already know to be true?
While I strongly suspect the latter in this case
Why?
Why do you continue this journey? Why do you kill the Lostbelts, and those of us who live in them?
Especially now that this planet's humanity and history have all been wiped away as though they never existed?
...I already told you why.
Indeed. To take back your world.
To take back our world.
I see. To take back your world.
？！
...So you are here to save this planet? To save all of Proper Human History?
Haha.
Haha, hahahaha. Hahaha.
Haha, hahahahahahahahahahaha! Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!
Ghhh...! There's that pressure again!
Hilarious!
What a truly amusing bunch you are. It would be one thing if you wanted me to carry out your wishes for you...
...but you insist on carrying them out yourselves, with your trifling power! And at my Olympia Dodona's altar!
Indeed, it has been a long time since I laughed so hard.
Yes... I see. Now, it is clear to me how you defeated my daughter, Artemis! My brother, Poseidon!
My sister, Demeter! And my daughter, Aphrodite! Their empty, soulless metal husks could never hope to defeat you!
Not in the face of your gleaming, unabashed straightforwardness!
Dammit...! Is this gravity trick...all you've got!?
This weight...! It's like it's...grinding my bones together!
Mash! Stay close to Fujimaru!
Your protections ought to take some of the weight off him... At least, I hope so!
R-right! Please stay close to me, Master!
If I were my Proper Human History self, Chaldeans, I would surely have made you into constellations.
But...
I am not.
I may be generous, but I am not a god of mercy. I am a god who rules over humanity with mighty thunderbolts.
Come to me, my Aletheia.
...Great electricity, confirmed.
Great demiurge, authenticated.
Cronus Crown synchronization complete. Deactivating Aletheia spatial camouflage.
Setting spatial expansion to directly above great altar. Deity True Form Designation: Zeus.
Designated Spirit Origin: Ancient God/Ruler.
Expanding. Expanding. Expanding. All intelligences in the vicinity are encouraged to leave immediately.
Up in the sky...!
？！
It's...the face of a giant god!
？！
It was the enormous...
...face of a god.
The massive structure made of divine steel truly seemed to stretch all the way to the heavens and beyond. This was the true visage of almighty Zeus.
This was the leader of the gods that reigned supreme over Olympusthe flagship of the fleet that had crossed the sea of stars long ago.
This was the Aletheia that presided over lightning, and the heavensthe mechanical god known as the all-powerful demiurge Zeus.
His name meant "shine." This was the true king of the godsthe ruler of the heavens, and all natural phenomena.
This was the great fortress that used all manner of Authority and functionality to guide humanity.
His desire to protect humans was genuine. But...
Kneel before me.
Worship me.
For I am the almighty Zeus.
...That's the real Zeus! The mobile flagship interstellar combat annihilation fortress!
He's the one who came to possess all Twelve Olympians' Authorities by taking control of the Cronus Crown...
An invincible, unstoppable fortress!
Don't even think about trying to attack him! Just focus on defending and surviving!
Try to hang in there until we can activate Aether!
I am the heavens.
I am thunder.
I am the omnipotent god who rules over all from boundless space.
I am the one who shall save Earth.
Mythology will rule once more.
Very well, Zeus! Now, let me ask YOU some questions!
What are your intentions with the roots of cosmic fantasy that have spread all across Earth?
What are your intentions with Tree of Emptiness Magellanor as you call it, Atlas the World Tree!?
We know it is both the lynchpin that creates Lostbelts, that enables them to sustain their existence, and a catalyst for the Foreign God to descend upon this planet!
So I ask: Do you plan to share your reign over Earth with the Foreign God?
Seeing as you are indeed an omnipotent god...
Are you willing to rule in tandem with a god who is most likely not even from your pantheon? No, of course not!
...
I knew it.
You are a dangerous one, sage.
You must not look at me.
You must not look at the gods.
Your very eyes are a threat to this world.
Don't try to change the subject!
Also, may I remind you... even now, I am still under your curse!
...
What is it you're thinking, O mighty god?
What are you planning to do with the Foreign God!?
Ahh, you tiny, insignificant beings.
Your existence has helped me realize many things.
It would be far too cruel...
...to burden such tiny beings as yourselves with the weight of the world.
I will never let it weigh on my people's shoulders.
Humans.
You need not worry, or resist, or think. All you need be is obedient reeds.
I alone shall think.
I alone shall worry.
All you need do is exist.
All you need do is smile.
All you need do is worship me.
Proper Human History.
Thinking reeds.
Fools who caress the black light.
Those who are to be feared.
Sleep.
When you awaken once again...
...you may bear witness as I bring about mythology's restoration.
2. Before the battle
193 linesSetting shield to maximum output!
Stabilizing bunker bolt! Maintaining optimum defensive position! Maintaining Ortinax maximum output across all drivetrains!
...!!!
Goddess of Nikeof victory! Bearer of the Aegis, the greatest shield in all of Greek mythology!
If your power truly resides within me...
Then please, lend it to me now! Athena!
Oho.
A conceptual defense, hmm?
So, you still speak.
So, you still live.
(Every single one of these lightning bolts contains such vast amounts of magical energy...)
(If I didn't have Athena's protection... they would vaporize me body and soul...!)
Aaaaaaaaaaaah!
(But...this isn't over yet!)
(Whatever else happens, I won't let go of this shield! I can't!)
(Even if I am a fake Servant who's still hopelessly naive about everything...)
(If nothing else, this shield still belongs to Galahad...a true Heroic Spirit!)
...!
(That's right. Athena's Aegis is the greatest conceptual defense in all of Greek mythology, isn't it!?)
(I definitely didn't expect it to be this incredibly effective...)
(...but even so, I'm not sure it's gonna be enough!)
(Mash's shield might've temporarily transformed into a divine artifact, but her and Fujimaru's magical energy is still being worn away.)
(It's like trying to stand your ground inside a storm... There's no way they can keep it up forever!)
(What do we do? How can we defeat a genuine god?)
(He deflects everything we throw at him. I didn't think such impenetrable defense was even possible!)
(Just how many layers of conceptual defense does he have piled on top of him!?)
We've got to keep it up until they activate Aether!
Right!
？！
Dammit! I can't stabilize my Spirit Origin! What the hell's with this lightning!?
I've been using my sea-god armor's protection this whole time, but his lightning keeps getting in the way of everything! Dammit!
(Caenis can't make full use of her power here, either.)
(And Holmes and Lord Caligula look like they can't so much as budge.)
(We're not just being kept on the defensive. We've got no moves we can even make!)
(I don't know if this god is actually conceptually omnipotent or just has almost unlimited functionality available to him...)
(...but there's no denying that smug old lightning bastard's hopelessly strong!)
I see.
So you are indeed using Aegis.
I gave that shield to my daughter myself.
That certainly explains its durability.
Great demiurge battle has exceeded expected duration. Enemy hostiles remain intact.
Reevaluating enemy defensive capabilities.
Temporarily expanding annihilation combat functionality. Requesting Authority limiter deactivation.
Requesting temporary deactivation of great compound Authority Titanomachia limiter... Approved.
Requesting temporary deactivation of great compound Authority Gigantomachia limiter... Approved.
...Shit.
So there's even more to Zeus's power!? We don't know exactly what this compound Authority may entail...
...but given that we've had to muster all our resources just to survive against machine gods with only one Authority at their command...
...I have a very bad feeling about this!
I must protect our city.
I must protect our people.
I must protect all of Olympus.
For even the Authority over the land and the harvest can no longer replenish the souls my thunderbolts incinerate.
However...
It seems I have no choice.
Deactivating intelligent life-form conservation function.
...!
You mean you were still holding back on us!? You bastaaaaaard!
Requesting deactivation of Keraunos final judgment function limiter... Approved.
Deactivating Anti-Planet destruction mechanism limiter.
Did he just say Anti-Planet!?
Deactivating Anti-Star system annihilation mechanism limiter.
Deactivating Anti-Space-Time attack mechanism limiter.
Deactivating Anti-Concept shattering mechanism limiter.
Anti...Star system... Space-Time... Concept...? But that would mean...
Everything.
Begone.
...
......
...Maintaining Ortinax output at seventy percent. Output stable!
Spirit Origin awakening rate remains above standard parameters. Bunker bolt is locked and stabilized.
Maintaining maximum defensive position.
It's okay, Mash.
I'm not moving from this spot.
？！
Thank you, Senpai.
Mash! Fujimaru!
(Zeus definitely isn't bluffing! This magical energy he's putting out is two... Three...!)
(Damn! I can't even count how many orders of magnitude greater it is!)
...Zeus.
Supreme being of Greek mythology, and all-powerful god.
Do you truly mean to destroy this world? To destroy all of creation?
No. I can tell this isn't right. This isn't what you truly want!
Surely you would never choose allegiance to an enigmatic Tree of Emptiness over Earth!
Tell me, King of the Gods!
Tell me, Zeus, nigh omnipotent mechanical god!
What is it that is driving you!?
Silence.
Sage...
...you will speak no more.
This is my shame. My choice.
My powerlessness.
Before ■■■■■■ appears within the Tree of Emptiness...
...I will claim every Spiritron within it for myself.
If nothing else...
I will at least save my city.
I will let it escape from this planet to the sea of stars.
I will at least preserve the traces of my beloved people.
I will keep them enshrined among the Age of Gods.
Wha... What did he say...? He's going
Then...Zeus's goal is
？！
To escape from Earth...
So you're choosing to make this Lostbelt into a colony, and to set off on another spacefaring journey!?
To abandon all of Earth's life-forms, and take nothing with you but mere traces of their existence!?
Indeed.
That is the mentality of gods.
It is a sign of gratitude for the intelligent beings who proclaimed us to be gods.
Ahh, my beloved world.
Ahh, my beloved new home.
Forgive me, Kirschtaria, my friend.
For I am about to take all of Atlas with me.
Thirty-five percent of all great demiurge functions/Authorities released. Parallel activation of great compound Authority successful.
Preparing to activate Keraunos final judgment functionality.
Initiating final judgment. Standing by for great demiurge activation countdown.
Attention, all intelligences in Olympus. Attention, all life-forms on this planet.
The final judgment will soon be activated. All intelligences and life-forms will cease to function.
Thank you for your existence.
Humans.
Multitudinous life-forms.
Farewell.
Farewell, my aaasss!
Kintoki's armor!
Settsu Armor Kumano!
？！
Goooooolden!
The blade on the armor's enormous steel fist...
...sunk deep into the god's cheek.
Though the blade was repelled by the countless Authorities protecting the god...
...the undeterred resolution behind the blow it struck was still enough to inspire the humans and Heroic Spirits witnessing it.
It was a defiant fist aimed at the god threatening a permanent goodbyethe last bit of assistance offered to the forces protecting humanity!
Please, Bear! Please, lend us your strength one last time...!
You got it, Adele!
I'm gonna buy you the last bit of time you need...
...so you can cast our special Grand Summon that'll knock Zeus flat on his metallic ass!
Insolence!
Authority activated. Preparing auto-retaliation defenses to demolish target.
Authority: Hades. Dissolve target matter into component atoms.
Ghh... Hngh...! Aaaaaaaaaaaah!
Foolish human child.
None can injure the heavens.
Yeah, you might be right! There's definitely no way I can beat you by myself!
But you know, Zeus old pal, I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say:
Someone who comes from the same place as you do? Maybe their fists'll be able to reach you...
Maybe they'll even be able to... punch your goddamn lights out!
Impossible.
Ghh...ooooooooolden!
We'll see about that! See, we've got a kickass spell here that combines the Spirit Core fragments from no less than eight Heroic Spirits, including a few electric ones, a weather one, and a Mahatma one!
And on top of that, we've also got a materialization guide made from a Roman Heroic Spirit's bonds for good measure!
Now watch what happens when it all comes together!
Grand Electric-Guided Chain Summon!
I am Ares, god of war!
In place of a fist, a gleaming crimson blade now bore down upon the god's cheek!
In place of the crumbling armor stood a figure not from the Lostbelt, but from the far bounds of Proper Human History...
A crimson god of war!
Behold, Zeus!
Hektor of the Shining Helmet, great hero of Troy, made a brilliant appearance at the seas of Atlantis!
We will do no less, even if we must cross the boundaries of principle and reason, chaos and order themselves!
Now I, Ares, god of war, stand before you!
Crimson Ares...
No. You are not the Ares I knew. You are the one from Proper Human History!
Indeed I am! In Rome, I was known as Mars, the crimson demiurge!
When I first came to this land as Ares, the god of war, I frightened humans, and they shunned me in return.
However...it was also humans who knew what sort of god I was, and gave me light regardless.
Thus, I am now both Ares and Marsa god who came to know love through humans' love for him, and who now returns that feeling in kind!
Does this mean Aether's activated!?
So this is our trump card! We fight a machine god with a machine god!
With help like this, we definitely ought to have a better-than-zero chance of winning!
How impudent.
A machine god that has already fallen to me once before?
The most you can hope to achieve is one surprise strike.
...Wrong.
You are wrong!
!?
Grand Summon Article Aether is the embodiment of our wish to bring down Zeus! It has more than one summon up its sleeve!
Do it, Macarios!
Five layers of Aether's final activation have finished! Opening final spell layer...
Now, all we need are the right catalysts, and we'll be able to materialize our final summon!
...At last, the time is at hand.
Now that I stand before Mars, Rome's glorious god of war, I can finally fulfill the true purpose of my materialization within this Lostbelt.
O Zeus, King of the Gods, listen well.
You are indeed the god of lightning, the supreme being that ties all of Greece's great mythology together.
Thus, it is our Rome, a fellow Mediterranean civilization of equally grand esteem...
...that is best suited to stand against you!
Rome is home to three great demiurges, one of which is the same Mars that stands before you now!
And the other...
...O twins of Olympus, now is the time for the final summon!
And you, Master of Chaldea, as one born to Proper Human History, I ask that you be the one to guide me!
Caligula...!
？！
Grand Summon Article Aether, final summon!
？！
Beginning final summon!
3. Before the battle
61 linesThanks to the great summoning circles arranged throughout the interstellar city of Olympus...
...Great Summon Article Aether absorbed both endless amounts of magical energy from the infinity crystal, and endless amounts of True Ether from the atmosphere.
Now, at last...the result was about to manifest upon the altar of a foreign land's god.
...We are sorry we could not be here sooner.
This was the last ray of hope the Heroic Spirits of the alliance had left behind.
The final key needed to slay Zeus. The path that would lead to a new tomorrow.
But, worry not.
The being who stood there now was once the founding king of all of Romea man sublimated with lightning who ascended to supreme godhood.
A soul of Proper Human History who became the ultimate being of his civilization's myth despite being born human.
From now on, we, the Holy Progenitor and supreme god of Rome...
...will be here by your side.
Caligula...? No, wait...
Wait. I know you...
？！
We have come to you now as a Grand Servant. This Spirit Origin bestowed upon us by humanity possesses arms of light, the Grand lances.
Our arms reach to the sky. Our light shall seize the heavens.
We are Grand Lancer. Our True Name is...
Romulus=Quirinus.
Holy Progenitor Romulus!
？！
Romans. Our children.
You have endured well.
You persevered even in the face of a curse that threatens to take humanity's precious light.
We heard your wish clearly. Indeed, it has been plain to us all this time.
Now the miracle you have long awaited has at last come to be. We are here.
Now, let us defeat the imperious heavens and shatter this false sky, children of Rome!
Ahh...
Romans!
!!!
Supreme Deity Quirinus!
The only human who disappeared into lightning and ascended to Supreme Deity!
So you are the one they summoned!
Now I see... So that was their game.
The final phase of Operation God Destroyer was never meant to summon another ancient god!
It was meant to summon a new godone who could blaze a path towards a new future!
A new god...!?
Perhaps you may recall one of Nikola Tesla's many spirited speeches on the myth of humanity? Well, a strong argument could be made that Quirinus the Divine Spirit is its symbol!
Born a demigod, he wielded godlike power even as he held onto his human roots!
He is the very picture of one who cast off an old era to forge new legends!
In a sense, his story is even akin to a retelling of Gilgamesh, the original King of Heroes...
Hahaha! How truly fascinating! I can think of no figure more suitable to show this omnipotent god of lightning the door!
Well done, God Destroyer Alliance! Well done indeed!
...Romans.
You have fought well. From now on, we shall be with you.
Come. Let us save the world together.
Romulus=Quirinus!
...You got it!
The Ortinax's output is...! No, it's not just that! All of our pools of magical energy are rising tremendously!
With this much energy at our command...!
...Ortinax output rising rapidly...now at three hundred percent. Auto-maintenance functionality still operational!
Shield remains in good condition. Switching modes from maximum defensive position to attack position!
Ready to engage in Anti-Divinity combat, Master!
Got it! This is where the real god destroying begins!
Listen well, my Romans born of humanity! Listen well, children of love, affection, and connection!
Now is the time for battle! You are to fight, to win and to live!
Shut up! I'm not a Roman! I'm Caenis, and there's only one of me in the whole damn world!
But for now, okay! I'll join your little army just this once!
And once I kill Zeus, there'll be no more pain-in-the-ass debt to worry about! Let's goooooo!
You heard the gods, ladies and gents! It's time to hit Zeus with everything we've got left!
Let the final phase of Operation God Destroyer begin!!!
4. After the battle
56 linesImpossible!
I am omnipotent, and yet...you hurt me...
What...ARE you!?
This will not stand!
Here's a little something I can only pull off here and now thanks to Quirinus protecting us! Niten Ichiryu Ultimate Art... Oikazuchi Kurikara!
Poseidon Maelstrom!
While, in a quite literal sense, only God knows what his Anti-Dimension and Anti-Star system attacks may be like...
...he hasn't resorted to any of them!
And indeed, thanks to the protection of Grand Lancer, Supreme Deity Quirinus, our attacks are, at last, able to penetrate Zeus's defenses!
This may just do the trick!
Per Aspera Ad Astra!
Ghh... Aaaaaargh...
Am I...taking damage?
Am I...suffering injury?
How?
Lord...Zeus...
Lady Europa!
Lord Zeus, please... I implore you to stop this.
These children refuse to give up on their dream of seeing a true tomorrow.
You should be blessing them for that, not cursing them.
I know you are capable of that, my beloved Zeus.
All you said about saving the world... That is what you truly desire, is it not?
Europa.
I know you, my beloved Zeus. Whether in Proper Human History or this Lostbelt...
...you have always loved me. No, not just me. All humans.
So then, what difference can there be between a human and a god?
Humans and gods are nothing alike.
The only gods who can love humans are those who have fallen beyond repair.
As for you, my Europa...
I am not the Zeus you once loved.
Begone.
Zeus's magical energy is rising! I think he's about to activate an offensive Authority!
But, inversely...
...his outer shell's magical energy density is dropping! Master!
He's switched his magical energy source over to his own body! If his multilayered Authority shell has weakened...
Then this is our last, best chance to take him down!
Now, children of Chaldea!
...Get ready to fire, Mash!
Black Barrel connection, complete.
Firing position is clear. Releasing Paradox Effector. Beginning countdown!
Initiating Accomplishments Measure. Ascertaining Zeus's life scale.
Six thousand... Four... Two... Huh? One thousand...?
N-never mind! Everything's fine!
Beginning Black Barrel transformation. Preparing to burn the Dead Counter into the gun barrel.
Zeus's destiny has been measured. Preparing Dead Counter to turn it from speculation into reality.
Bunker bolt is at its limit! Gun barrel is fully stabilized!
Immediate synchronization with Barrel Replica complete. Ortinax synchronization rate is at fifty percent... Sixty... Seventy... Eighty percent...
Master! Please load the Command Spell!
This is it! Our last Command Spell bullet!
？！
Command Spell loaded! Initiating Barrel Replica Spiritron acceleration!
Third Spiritron acceleration zone reached! Command Spell magical energy bullet formation complete!
...God Destroyer round is ready to fire! Master!
Fire!!!
？！