Section 23 Node 2 Super Recollection Quest (4/5)

There, I've made it to the ground safely. No hostiles detected in our vicinity.

Go ahead and jump down, Master. It's okay; I'll catch you!

You okay, Fujimaru? I can't believe you need help getting down from a little ledge like that...

I guess people from Proper Human History are even more fragile than I thought.

Stop that, Macarios. You know he doesn't have the same protections we do.

I do, yeah... Sorry, Fujimaru. I'll be more careful from now on.

Th-thank you, Master. I'm just glad I could help.

Of course. He's right here inside my shield's storage space.

？！

Fou fo!

Aah! Please get back in there, Fou! We're almost certainly going to be fighting another battle soon!

All the many defensive mechanisms that were in place have shut down. The quakes have become more frequent as well.

...So it would seem.

I can no longer sense Lord Zeus's light from within the Cronus Crown.

The Cronus Crown controls the crystal mountains, and their massive magical energy supply. It gave Lord Zeus the power to wield many different kinds of Authority.

So the fact that it has shut down must mean...

...It's only a matter of time until this shrine falls to the ground...

Then we'd better hurry. We just need to keep heading up from here, right?

Yes, there's a small purification temple inside the palace. It should have a path that leads to the Tree of Emptiness.

Fou, fooou!

？！

A table that differs significantly from Olympian design... Seven chairs... A modern-day magical circuit in the room...

It seems most likely that this is the Crypters' meeting room.

I expect this is where Kirschtaria and the other CryptersHm?

Attention, my fellow Crypters evacuating to Olympia Dodona.

If you're hearing this, Zeus has fallen to Chaldea, and the Tree of Emptiness now belongs solely to me.

The moment is at hand. The Tree of Emptiness's stored magical energy has reached a critical point.

Now that my Tree of Emptiness, Atlas, is about to fully bloom...

...our contest to grow our Lostbelts and determine the next course of human history is over, and I've won.

I only hope that you're all still alive to hear this.

I'm sure you have many thoughts, but I hope you can accept the new world that will soon be upon us. Farewell.

That was Kirschtaria! Then that corridor must be the one that leads to the Tree of Emptiness!

...

Huh!? Master, the woman we saw in the Russian Lostbelt is standing in front of the corridor

...

Huh? What are you talking about, Mash? There's no one near the corridor.

Macarios is right. There's no magical energy there, either. Are you okay? Are you sure you're not just exhausted?

Huh? But...I can see her right there, plain as day...

？！

Perhaps she wishes to tell us something, or perhaps she's some kind of random phenomenon.

Regardless, we have no time to deal with her now. As it seems she won't be getting in our way, it may be best if we moved on and ignored her.

？！

I... I know you're right, but... She seems like she does want to tell us something...

Forget about the invisible girl and come on! We're almost at the end of this!

What're you scared of at this point!? This guy completely kicked your asses in Atlantis, right?

Don't you want to return the favor this time!?

？！

R-right! Well said, Master!

I'm so sorry. I wish I knew what it is you want to tell us.

Next time, I'll make sure to hear what you have to say, but right now, I have to go!

...

Hmm. You know, even I can never tell what it is you're thinking.

Tell me, Priestess, did you want to stop them, or did you want to kill them here and now?

...

I see. It goes without saying, does it? Then, as I suspected, you simply don't care one way or the other.

Understood. In that case, I won't interfere with their battle either.

Perhaps Kirschtaria's inhuman resolution and unshakable willpower will prevail...

Perhaps it will be the daring and unpredictable Chaldeans, who carry the fate of humanity on their shoulders...

Or...perhaps our luck will prevail over them both, even after making enemies of everyone.

Regardless of what happens, as a lone priest, I will simply watch and see...

...what form the Foreign God's own truth will take.

？！

...Huh? That's strange. I'm not getting any response from Sheba.

I'm not seeing anything in the way of confirmed future attack patterns with future prediction, either. It looks like...it doesn't have any hostile intent whatsoever...

(What...? Does this mean this Tree of Emptiness doesn't possess any means of attacking its enemies? ...Or perhaps, that it has no need for them?)

So this is Tree of Emptiness Atlas. Even I have never seen it this close before...

It really does look like there's a galaxy inside an empty tree... I mean, I could see that from the ground before too, but...

Yeah... Seeing it up close is somehow overwhelming. I mean, it's definitely beautiful, but

But more than that, it's terrifying, I take it? I feel the same way, Adele, Macarios.

Hello, Chaldean remnants and Olympian traitors.

As a representative of both worlds...

...allow me to welcome you to Tree of Emptiness Atlas.

Limbo!

Right you are! It is I, the very Limbo you defeated only a short while ago.

Surprised? Shocked?

No need to say anything. I can tell exactly how you feel! You're positively aquiver with astonishment, yes?

But as you can see, I am indeed immortal. No matter what manner of harm is visited upon me, I will always bounce back as surely as turning a page

I never gave you permission to speak, Limbo. Be warned that I am not as lenient as Zeus.

Now be quiet, or you'll find yourself burning to cinders like the page to which you've just likened yourself.

...What was that? A mere Crypter, daring to tell me what to do?

You mean you still haven't noticed? Unbelievable.

You do understand that you're the shikigami Limbo left here to keep an eye on the Tree of Emptiness, yes?

Well, the thread tying you to the real Limbo has been cut. You are now Limbo's last remaining clone.

Mmm, impossible! I'm afraid you must be mistaken! Only that onmyouji could ever hope to sever my spell's

What!? It HAS been severed!? How!? What could have possibly happened!?

This is terrible, absolutely terrible! What a horrible joke! I can't believe I can only die one more time!

Very well, if you'll excuse me, Kirschtaria Wodime, I believe I shall leave this in your hands.

I'm going to wait over by the Tree of Emptiness and watch you all kill one another from afar!

Good grief. Incorrigible to the end.

First off, let me congratulate you for prevailing against Zeus. I was sure your chances were almost nonexistent.

I'm impressed you managed to defeat him without losing a single member of your team.

Oh? Was I mistaken? Let me see...

There's you, Fujimaru... Mash Kyrielight... Queen Europa... Sherlock Holmes...

Was there another who deserved to be counted among the ranks of Proper Human History?

...

？！

If it is all the same to you, I would appreciate if you kept the provocations to a minimum.

Much as I would like to speak with you at length, we simply haven't the time.

That Tree of Emptiness behind you is in a very precarious state, and we're not about to let all our hard work thus far be for nothing. We WILL be cutting it down as soon as possible, whether you like it or not.

A most practical decision.

But, I'm afraid you're a bit too late. My Tree of Emptiness is already complete.

Before, it was simply waiting to fully bloom. Now, it's using over half its power to protect itself.

Once a Tree of Emptiness's bark reaches that point, it's no longer possible to interfere with it externally.

The only ones who can make the Tree die are Zeus, who was connected to it directly...

...and myself, since I possess the right to use it as I see fit. And that means

？！

？！

...Yes. That's right, Master.

Kirschtaria Wodime, if what you say is true...

...then all you had to do was stay out of sight and wait.

But instead, you chose to show yourself and confront Master Fujimaru directly.

...And that must mean you're prepared, aren't you?

I am. If you are able to defeat me, I'm prepared to hand over the Tree of Emptiness.

...

Oho. You never wore an expression so fierce as the one I see on you now, Mash.

You too, Fujimaru. I'm glad I'm finally getting to see your true selves.

I knew you two weren't fighting me with all you had back in Atlantis.

Or at least, what I saw of you there didn't quite fit what I'd heard about you before.

I was told you two never give up, no matter how powerful your opponent is. That you swallow your despair and rise up to meet any challenge.

I was also told that you acknowledge your fears, remember to search for answers, hold on to hope...and never doubt who you are.

That you were a Master who faced impossible odds and fought through them all, all while carrying the future of humanity on your shoulders.

...Ahh, this is so exciting. At last, you are finally as I imagined.

Now, you look just like Daybit described. Now, you are indeed the greatest enemy I could hope to face.

？！

？！

Fou, fooou!

Whoa! When did you learn to talk tough like that, Fujimaru!?

True, I never thought I'd hear you say anything like that either. And yet, strangely enough, it also sounded just like something you WOULD say!

(Indeed, Mr. Fujimaru does seem to be back to his old selfas he used to be at Chaldea.)

(Right now, it's clear he's not consumed with sympathy for this Lostbelt, nor preoccupied with the mystery of the Foreign God.)

(His only focus right now is on the powerful enemy before him.)

(...Now I see. So this is what you wanted, Kirschtaria.)

(A battle to determine the greatest Master...)

(...and a way to entrust what's to come to Fujimaru without putting himself in his debt...)

...Wonderful.

That's just what I was hoping for, Master of Chaldea, though you were never one of us.

Don't worry, I'm not going to pull an Akuta. I'm simply going to obliterate you here and now.

The enemy Master has assumed a combat stance! Master!

？！

Come, Caenis! Let's begin! This will be the last battle ever to be fought between humans!