The Journey Continues

...Guess I can't just keep gazing at the sky forever.

Now that it looks like the Tree of Emptiness is gone, it's only a matter of time before Olympus disappears.

I suppose I should be glad that this whole frontier area didn't fall apart the moment Zeus died.

...Alrighty, I'd better get a move on before the ground here starts to collapse.

At least I don't have to wonder where to go next.

While I do wish I could go be with Daybit in South America, there's something I still have to take care of first.

Teehee. I'm not usually one for revenge...

...but I'll make an exception for you, Beryl Gut.

...He, hehe, he.

...Mmm.

...He, hehe, hehe, hehehehehe!

Hehehehehahahahahahahaha! Imagine!

To think the end of the gods' pets would come like this!

The gods must be proud indeed, knowing they kept these pets around for ten thousand years for this!

Ahh, what a truly dreadful thought! Academia? Art? Did those so-called legacies amount to anything whatsoever!?

They gave their pets eternal life, and even limited their value...

...and in the end, they were done in by rogues they utterly failed to control!

A mere two specimens of humanitylarvae left over from the Olympiamachia who went and betrayed their keepers!

And now that Chaldea and company have had their way with them, not a trace remains...

What else could one call this but a glorious farce! He, hehe, hehehehahahahahaha...!

Indeed, now that I've witnessed this beautiful sight, I can scarcely restrain myself any longer!

Yes, next time...

I, Ashiya Douman...

...shall entertain the god-slaying Master in my true domain...

The bowels of hell itself! Hehehehehehehahahahahahahaha!

...Zero Sail systems are all green. Magical Reactors are operating in parallel. Hull damage minimal.

In that case, there won't be any need for us to do a rush dive. We'll be able to begin a standard one before this Lostbelt disappears.

Meunière, would you mind giving me a hand?

You got it, Captain!

No, wait, forget just giving you a hand. You only just got back on your feet, so you should still be taking it easy for a while. Just sit back and let me handle things for now.

Solid as a seashell. Now go take a seat in the copilot's chair, and don't forget your seat belt.

R-roger that. ...Solid as a seashell?

Dimension-piercing battleship Storm Border, preparing for deployment. Setting a return course to the Wandering Sea.

All hands, I'll do my best to keep the ship steady, but stay alert just in case!

...You know, now that I think about it...

We've really got our work cut out for us, don't we?

Getting through Atlantis and Olympus was a huge ordeal...and fortunately, the Atlantic Lostbelt's Tree of Emptiness is technically gone now.

But its branches covering Earth's stratosphere haven't gone anywhere, the Foreign God made her descent...

...and if that wasn't bad enough, she manifested with the Spirit Origin of Beast VIIone of the Evils of Humanity.

At one point, the Foreign God was one step away from wiping out all of Olympus and taking you guys with it...

...but a massive burst of magical energy fired at her from the palace put a stop to that.

That seems to have done some damage to her, from the looks of it...

...since she responded by pulling in two of the Alter Egos, Rasputin and Senji Muramasa, and disappearing.

At the moment, not even the Border's sensors can determine where they might have gone.

Just as well, really, seeing how we wouldn't have a snowball's chance in hell if she tried to attack us now.

...Anyway, the big problems now are the Foreign God's name, and what she looks like...

？！

Yes, I recognized that face from the database! That was definitely Olga Marie Animusphere!

But how!? She was killed right after the bombing at Chaldea that began the Incineration of Humanity!

What in the world is going on here!?

Don't tell me this means Chaldea was behind everything after all!?

Did I really make a once-in-a-lifetime bet on an organization that's trying to wipe out all of humanity!?

I... We're not sure about that, either.

Was that really Director Olga Marie?

A fair question. Given both yours and her reactions, it seems safe to say there are strong similarities...

...but there were also too many clear differences to say they are the same person.

First, we know that the Foreign God manifested in the spitting image of Olga Marie, and that she also claimed the former director's name as her own.

Second, her Spirit Origin was far from human.

She is neither Heroic Spirit nor Servant. The Foreign God manifested as a Beast.

Third, she did not know who you were, and she also seemed unfamiliar with Earth culture and language.

Taking all this into account, it would seem Beast VII shares many similarities with Beast I, Goetia...

...and the way he manifested using King Solomon's body.

Th-then, the Foreign God is using Olga Marie Animusphere's body in the same way?

The body of the daughter of the Animusphere family, which was formerly among the Lords of the Clock Tower?

...This is a disaster. A highly talented mage's body being used as a vessel...

Then, if I had happened to be there...that means the Foreign God would have looked like me!

Fooou.

Calm down, Goredolf. I do understand the terror of the unknown...

...but remember, we do know a great deal about what sort of person Olga Marie Animusphere was.

While we may not yet know what it is, we can assume there is a reason why the Foreign God chose to resemble her.

Fortunately, all the Animuspheres' data was also brought along to Chaldea Base...

...so I'll start going over it once we've returned to the Wandering Sea.

I have no doubt we'll find some manner of clue in there that will help lead us to the truth.

I-I see. You're certainly taking all this in stride, Administrative Advisor.

Actually, I just had a thought...

According to the report I just received, it looks like one effect of your being struck by Zeus's lightning was a reduction in brainpower...

S-so how are you doing now? Are you back to your old self yet, or are you still something of a moron?

Fouron?

Not to worry, Goredolf. My brainpower has very nearly fully recovered.

Though I will say, seeing what it's like to voice and act upon my thoughts immediately has been a most novel and informative experie

Never mind that now, Holmes. You've been pushing yourself way too hard for way too long!

That's right! I know all about how you've been using your Noble Phantasm this whole time to come up with ways out of all the jams you guys kept finding yourselves in!

I know we've got stuff to talk about, but it can wait until after you've gotten your ass into the recovery pod!

That goes for talking to Kadoc in the infirmary, too! It can all wait until everyone's recovered!

Kadoc...?

Kadoc in the infirmary?

？！

Wh-what are you talking about!? Do you mean Kadoc's on the Storm Border right now!?

And, he's in the infirmary...?

Oh, right! It completely slipped my mind! We have Kadoc in custody right now!

It was right before we were about to make our way up to the altar...

Don't worry, you've nothing to fear from me. I'm not carrying any NFF Services weapons this time.

I simply have a delivery for you.

This delivery is not from me as a Disciple of the Foreign God. Rather, it is from Rasputinor at least what remains of his Heroic Spirit within me.

Take care of Kadoc for me, would you?

...That mischievous Grand Duchess was more worried about someone else's future than her own safety.

So rather than letting him die, I thought I should at least give him a fighting chance.

But do let him know that this was a onetime only occurrence.

I won't be lifting a finger to help him again, not even if I should happen to see wild dogs eating him alive.

And just like that, he dropped Kadoc right where he stood and left him. He was covered in blood and obviously in critical condition, so we got him to the infirmary right away!

But by the time we got out there to collect him, Rasputin was already long gone!

That said, Kadoc is still in a coma. We're not sure what will happen next with him.

According to Nemo Nurse's diagnosis, we'll need to keep him in the recovery pod for several months.

But once he IS fully recovered, mark my words, I'll be grilling him for every bit of info he's got!

Well don't forget, Kadoc's not the only one who needs to rest, Gordy. We could all use a good, long break.

Y-yes, very true. Between Atlantis and Olympus, we have completed our largest and most trying operation to date.

While we may indeed have our work cut out for us, I think we've more than earned the right to take some time to relax and recover!

You said it!

...Okay, Fujimaru and Mash, I'd like to say a little something too.

Congratulations on resolving the Fifth Lostbelt.

Like we said, we definitely still have our work cut out for us, but you don't have to worry about that yet. Right now, your only job is to get some rest.

We can talk turkey over what comes next once Holmes is back to his old self.

All right, that's all from me for now. Great work, you two! You did awesome!

Um, Senpai? Could I talk to you for just a little bit before we go back to our rooms?

Thank you, Senpai. I was just wondering something...

What do you make of the Foreign Godof U-Olga Marie?

I know Holmes thinks she's an imposter who only looks like Director Olga Marie, but...

I can't help but think...

？！

R-right!?

I don't have anything concrete I can point to to explain it, but I felt the same way!

There's just something about U-Olga Marie that tells me she's the same Olga Marie we knew!

？！

Huh? What do you mean?

？！

？！

Right! That's exactly right, Master!

I know we still have a lot of thinking to do about what we can do and what we should do...

But if our goal is to save her rather than defeat her, I'm more than willing to fight!

Never thought I'd end up back 'ere. Guess even a Servant life's full of surprises.

So what happened to the Foreign God? How come she locked herself up in the workshop as soon as we got here?

She sure settled down quick for all that heavy breathing she was doing. What's the deal?

She having second thoughts after one of the Earthlings she treated like fleas managed to cut her?

Try to be understanding. She couldn't help but be surprised when something she considered merely part of the scenery decided to attack her.

If a pebble laying on the ground jumped up and slashed at you out of nowhere, wouldn't you be shocked, too?

Suppose so. Hell, I'd lose my shit if the eggplant I was having for breakfast suddenly came at me with a sledgehammer.

Guess it's a lot like how some people are scared of bees.

...So what, this mean Kirschtaria's Sirius Light thing actually

Of course it didn't actually hurt the Foreign God. Why, it didn't even come close to breaking her skin.

But the fact that there were beings willing to attack her at all has made her stop and rethink her approach.

She's currently using this terminal to review human historyeven if she doesn't seem very happy about it.

You know, in a sense, Kirschtaria saved our lives as well.

Thanks to him, the Foreign God is now willing to let us stay on as her Disciples.

Never mind that we've lost contact with Limbo for the moment.

Huh? Isn't the Foreign God s'posed to be all-powerful or some such? What would she still be needing us for?

I'm getting to that. You see, there are two surprising things the Foreign God learned from these events:

The fact that there are insects on this world willing to attack herreckless and meaningless as those attempts may beand that there exists a lance of light capable of burning down even the Trees of Emptiness.

She'd like you to go investigate the latter. And destroy it, of course.

She says she'll teleport you there as soon as she's ready.

That so? Well, can't be any worse than here. No telling when this place'll up and disappear anyway.

So how 'bout you? You gonna stay here as her escort?

No, I'll be heading out shortly myself.

The Foreign God desires a more durable vessel than the one she has now, so she's sending me out to procure one.

Ain't she plenty strong as she is? Hell, it's not even possible to make a stronger Spirit Origin anywhere on Earth, right?

So where're you gonna find one better than what she's already got?

Not to worry. I already have just the place in mind.

You see, the machine gods of Atlantis aren't the only foreign beings who made their way to this planet in ages long past.

There is a golden sea of trees in the belly of the underworld known as Xibalba that is home to an enormous beast.

It slumbers in a world where Alaya is stable, and wriggles to life in a world where Gaia shows itself.

...I speak, of course, of an Ultimate Onea being who came here from the Oort cloud.

...Hey, uh, you up now?

Oh good, you are. There's something you oughta see.

I went back and forth on whether to bring this to you...but ultimately, I thought you deserved to see it.

Sorry to spring this on you when you're still tired, but...I didn't think it could wait.

？！

...A video file from the God Destroyer Alliance base.

？！

According to the timestamp, it was recorded after you guys took Demeter out.

We're not sure exactly when it was sent, but it looks like it was right before you guys left for the Great Orbital Shrine.

I don't know how they pulled it off, but the file's in the exact same format we use at Chaldea. Man, Olympian tech never ceases to impress me.

Anyway, I already sent the file over to your personal terminal.

...We already watched it ourselves, but I'm not gonna demand you do the same. Whether you do or not, it's totally up to you.

Though I will say that Goredolf decided to designate them as MIA after watching it himself.

Said something along the lines of:

"We can't confirm their deaths, so who's to say they won't come back to us again someday?"

Like director, like field team, I guess.

But hey, who am I to judge? We could all stand to get a little sentimental now and then.

Anyway, that's all I wanted to say for now. Later.

...Good, the camera's working fine.

Testing, testing... Good, no problems with audio, either.

Okay, I'm all set to record. Now I just gotta make sure no one sees me.

It's not that I want to cause any infighting, but every organization needs to perform an internal review sometimes.

And while the God Destroyer Alliance might not have many members, it's still an organization. We should know how everyone really feels.

... ...

I don't like the idea of surreptitiously filming them... But then again, Edison said it was perfectly normal.

Anyway, this'll only be for reference, nothing more.

Macarios? Where are you?

I could have sworn he was around here. Maybe he's in a private room? Ugh.

Hm? What's up, Adele? Something the matter?

I wanted to ask Macarios to help me with something, but I can't find him anywhere.

Hmm, gotcha. Maybe I could help instead?

I appreciate the offer, but that's okay.

You see, I wanted to ask him to fine-tune your and Mash's Klironomia.

Right. Yeah, I probably couldn't be much help with that. Not exactly my area of expertise.

Well, I wouldn't say Macarios and I are experts, either.

Maybe not, but how many years have you guys been fiddling with that stuff?

A thousand or so. Oh, right. I guess in other worlds, that would make us experts, huh?

You can say that again!

Haha, I see your point.

...There you are, Sister. Hey, Musashi.

Oh good. Listen, Macarios

You want me to fine-tune their Klironomia, right? I'll take care of it. Gotta make sure there won't be any aftereffects and such, after all.

Anyway, on a different subject... Can I ask you two something?

Hm?

What is it?

Well... I was just wondering what you think of the Chaldeans.

What do you mean?

They're our comrades in arms. They've been invaluable to our alliance.

How about you, Musashi?

Hmm, good question. Maybe travel companions...? No, that's not quite right.

I honestly don't know much about Holmes. I've barely even talked to any of the other staff, either!

But I do love Fujimaru.

And Mash too, of course! Mmm, really, I just love them both to bits!

Oh my...

At first, I didn't really know anyone besides Fujimaru.

And my first impression of Mash was basically just that she seemed really earnest...

But then, once I saw how she fought...I got it.

The whole reason Fujimaru's able to live the way he does...

...is because he's been with her all this time.

Once I figured that out, well, I just fell in love with Mash!

Now I can't help but smile whenever I see her and Fujimaru doing their best together!

...That's so touching. I just love that sort of thing.

You think? I don't really get the appeal myself... Anyway, next question.

Are there any requests you'd like to make of them? Maybe something you feel like they could be doing better?

Huh? What kind of question is that? We doing some kinda performance review thing?

O-of course not. I'm just, uh, making conversation. I wasn't asking for any particular reason. Nope.

Oh reeeally?

Okay, if you say so. Anyway, let's see... Something I'd like to request from them, huh...

Hmm. I guess I'd like them to do all the living I won't be ab

Huh?

Uh, on second thought, just forget that one. Here, let me try again.

I think what I'd like to request from them...

...is that they live happy lives!

Wh-what kind of answer is that? That's not even a request.

I want them to live as long and as happily together as possible, so that they never have to go through any pain or hardships.

That's the one and only request I have for them!

...Well, that was...helpful...

Eh?

You really do love those two, don't you?

Absolutely. Like I said, I love them to pieces!

So, what about you two? What do you think of Mash and Fujimaru?

Us?

You're the only other ones here, aren't you?

W-well, uh... We definitely couldn't have beaten Demeter without them.

In fact, the alliance never actually managed to destroy a single god until they came along.

So

I like them, personally. And I don't just mean as comrades or alliance members.

S-Sister!

If we hadn't met them while we were in the middle of fighting a war...

...I even think we could have been friends.

Well of course you could. Honestly, I thought you were all already friends. Aren't you?

...I'm not sure. I hope so.

Well, I could've sworn you were, so. Hmmm.

Ah.

I've got it. Somebody mark the date, because this gal just had herself a fantastic idea!

Wh-where'd that come from? And what is this idea, anyway?

I'm so glad you asked! Like I said, it's fantastic! My idea is, once Operation God Destroyer is well and truly done...

...we should have a party to celebrate. One with lots of yummy food.

You're right. That does sound lovely!

...Sure, but that only works if the operation goes off without a hitch, we don't have any casualties, and we have enough time to put something like that together.

So I'm not sure I'd call it fantas

It's gonna go great! We're gonna MAKE it go great!

... ...

...Good point. I mean, the plan is for the operation to work out as intended, so why not?

Then I'll have to start thinking of what to make for the occasion. Hmm... Now what would be good for a party...?

Udon! Definitely udon! For the rest, we'll have to go around asking everyone else what their favorite foods are.

Oh, and we'll definitely have to get Goredolf to make his special omelets!

This party's going to be so much fun! Just you wait!