The Inescapable Gehenna, Id

... ...

Tiny thing.

By now, you may be no more than embers, but I will still not let even one of you escape.

Have at you.

Damn nuisances.

Bold of you accursed dregs to continue writhing even after my flames have incinerated you.

Die!

There are quite a lot of these.

Continuing to deal with them in this manner will be difficult, especially after that severe blow I suffered.

In that case...

... ...

Heh. It seems we've both gotten weaker since we last met.

...Heh.

... ...

Kuku. Kukukukukukuku...

Kuhaha... HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA HAHAHAHAHA!

Ugh, does nobody here know how to SHUT THE HELL UP!?

...Oho.

What're you smirking at? You think this is funny?

Ugh, I can't believe you.

Did you actually just stage a fight to the freaking death between your own resolve and regrets?

This is ridiculous. What even happened to the rest of you after you yanked those two things out, anyway?

Nothing.

Huh?

We are the flames of vengeance. Our unshakable resolve is what defines us.

Hehe. What else could it be?

Ugh, forget it. My own damn fault for trying to take an idiot seriously.

Fine, let's just leave it at that.

Hmm.

Still, I'm surprised you were aware of the matter between my resolve and my regret. Where did you hear of it?

Huh?

It was your Spirit Origin that

...Oh, right. I see now.

This must be what she meant when she said not everyone can hear. Guess you two are among the unlucky ones.

Come to think of it, Nightingale said something about this, too.

A mental injury, huh. That explains it.

Oh, now you're quiet?

What are you talking about? Me?

You would seem to be hearing things. Have you finally lost what remains of your mind, Dragon Witch?

...!

YOU are gonna say that to ME!?

...Hmm.

Don't you give me that!

Do you have any idea how long we've been waiting for you to show up, asshole!?

I've had to deal with Kagekiyo going off to look for Hessian's head, Salieri throwing impromptu concerts...

...a sudden Nitocris sing along, Gorgon getting all pissy...

This was NOT my idea of a good time!

... ...

And now what?

You finally show up, and you just talk to yourself like this is some damn one man show? Cut that shit out.

This whole meetup was your idea, right?

So how 'bout you get to the freakin' point and tell us where we're going already?

The bottom.

The farthest reaches of Fujimaru's mind. I have an errand there at his Gehenna.

Don't worry. It won't take long.

Ugh, if it's not one thing, it's another.

Those trials, that Ordeal Call stuff, it's all done now, right?

Correct.

We have but this errand left to attend to. My apologies for drawing you into this.

What about that black shadow self of yours? It doesn't seem to have any magical energy left to do anything useful.

Hmm. If you require aid in taking his head, I am happy to provide.

Cut that out. Looks like you've still got more Ushiwakamaru in there than you thought.

Ah.

Not to worry. This will be quick.

Thank you for waiting.

Whoa, you're back to your old self.

This Spirit Origin still feels more like home to me.

Having said that...

...it also appeared this errand would be more difficult for Fujimaru if I had remained in my previous Spirit Origin.

So I changed my appearance to something more appropriate for a killer known for his flames of vengeance.

Though forcefully altering my Spirit Origin did turn out to be more difficult than I thought.

... ...

...You've got a really messed up idea of what it means to be nice, you know that?

Yes. I'm sure you're right.

Wretched thing.

Well damn, look at you go.

You looked like you were in pretty bad shape back in Chaldea, even before all this trial nonsense.

I even saw you cough up blood in the halls a few times.

So I figured your Spirit Origin and Spirit Core must've been hanging on by a thread or something.

...You're more observant than I thought.

It wasn't me. It was Amakusa.

And Merlin, and Abby...and Kama.

Then they did well.

My poor condition was a result of my taking magical energy from my Chaldea self to construct Pseudo-Tokyo.

We agreed on this course of action, obviously.

It was a preparatory step to answer the call of duty. I'd always known this city would be my stage.

So yes, that is why my Chaldean self was weakened.

No longer. Both of my selves have united now. My Spirit Origin is in peak condition.

Huh?

I have no clue what you're yammering about.

But after all that talk about resolve and regrets and stuff, it sure seems like you love looking at things your own weird way.

Oh, and if this is you trying to confuse us, I WILL burn your ass to ash, here and now.

...

Oh, NOW you got nothing to say.

At least he hasn't escaped into his spirit form. Usually, he'd be long gone by now.

But he isn't. I can only assume that means this place is very important.

We should all make sure we're ready for anything.

Not a problem. Hehe, I always live my life as though I am on the battlefield.

That is precisely what this place is. A battlefield.

Let down your guard, and the remnants of fire will burn you alive. So stay alert and keep your eyes peeled for anything.

...Let's go.

Under most circumstances...

...I would never materialize in this world, regardless of the time or place.

My choice to do so on this occasion was purely on a whim. I wanted to see the King of Demon Gods' flames, since they razed the whole world...

...and so, I materialized, just once.

That was when I met Fujimaru, and realized something.

Something I never in my wildest dreams expected...

Okay... And what was that?

You know. It was the same for you.

Just gimme a straight answer.

Destiny.

!!!

I-I'm amazed you can say that kind of sappy shit with a straight face.

There was just something about him that drew my eye. I'm sure it was the same for you.

For all of you, in fact. You saw something shining bright in him, did you not?

Huh?

Hmm...

True, I suppose I did see something odd in him that drew my eye.

He is also quite the eccentric. I never thought anyone not from the Taira clan would want my companionship.

For that matter, he is not even a member of the Genji.

You know, for all the times you've mentioned Taira this and Genji that, I still have no clue what all that's about.

No?

It's simple. We are Avengers! Hatred incarnate! What more need be said!?

Although, I have heard you were quite the fearsome foe once, Lady Jeanne Alter.

...No comment. And stop getting all Yoshitsune on me out of nowhere.

Besides, if you want to talk about tough foes, what about snake lady over there? I heard she beat the hell out of Ushiwakamaru.

No comment.

Still...I understand your meaning, at least to a certain extent.

Our Master is a fool and an eccentric, but he truly sees his folly all the way through.

I know what you mean. My contracted Master truly is a fool.

The way he always treads the line between impudence and insolence without committing either is irritating, yet strangely endearing.

...Don't tell him I said that.

Uh... Was that actual praise for him?

No, wait, I guess you are. But it's really hard to tell!

What about you two? As I recall, you are not Heroic Spirits, but a mixture of Phantom Spirits. What do you think of our Master?

(Thumbs up)

It seems the Wolf King has some complaints...but the fact that he is still here to share them speaks volumes.

In spite of some of us swearing enmity against all of mankind, or simply harboring intense hatred...

...we all still saw something in Fujimaru that drew us to him.

That is why we're all here now.

It was no different for me. I only know what happened in the Lostbelts from their records...

...but as far as I can tell, he does not deserve to die in wildfire.

H-huh.

Is it just me, or did you lose the whole Mr. Sal thing you had going on?

Who can say?

Hmm.

... ...

...I knew he was popular, but damn. Not that I care, though.

(Shrugging as if to say "Good grief")

...I swear I'm gonna burn all your asses. See if I don't.

Heh.

The point is, we all saw something of value in him. That's all that matters.

However...this will all be over soon.

It won't be long before we reach Chaldea and have our final showdown. The inflection point is close at hand.

Will the embers sleeping within him burst into flame, causing him to become an avenger and start down the path of fire and destruction?

Or

Or will he choose the path of life?

Precisely.

That is precisely why he must rid himself of all his fire.

Our power, the power of fire and blade, exists solely to kill.

It can never be used for anything else.

... ...

Maybe so, but I'm still pretty pissed at HOW you went about teaching him that.

Hm?

I'm talking about Kyrie.

And his mom, and his little sister.

...Yes. You're right.

I don't know much about this stuff, so I'm only going off a hunch here...

...but the people in your Pseudo-Tokyo weren't soulless puppets or anything like that, were they?

... ...

According to Chaldea's records...

"The prison tower is a pseudo-reality, a pseudo-world, created from mind rather than matter."

"It is a mindscape made manifest, similar yet different from a Reality Marble. It is a Bounded Field made to trap souls and minds."

"It is a mental world that contains multiple souls, and operates as a fully functional immaterial reality."

I believe that is what Chaldea's resident doctor wrote at the time.

Uh... Sorry, but I didn't get that at all.

It means you're right.

I...see?

However, some questions remain. For instance, how many souls could one find on this bleached Earth?

... ...

If you had a Holy Grail, I'm sure you could have chain summoned a few Heroic Spirits.

But what about all the others?

You couldn't have used Master's soul. Even if you wanted to, you're simply not able.

Given how weak your black shadow self was...

...I must assume the only resources freely available to you were those within your own Spirit Origin.

So then, if the people who inhabited this Pseudo-Tokyo Prison truly did have souls...

...they would have to be

Well? Say something, dammit.

...Heh.

If you have time to dwell on such trivialities, you should instead spend it watching for enemies.

Now come on.

Man, you got no freakin' clue how to talk to people, do you?

Huh?

The hell? Where'd the stairs go?

So, to you it was a staircase. Suffice to say, there are no rules about how one descends to Gehenna.

Do not allow your mind to be limited by common sense. Expand your perceptions.

We have arrived. This is the Gehenna buried deep in Fujimaru's mind.

Take a look.

At what? There's nothing here. It's just pitch-black as far as the eye can see.

What did I just tell you? Expand your perceptions.

I'm sure you too can see them if you try.

...Okay, I see them now.

But what, uh, ARE they...?

Demon God Pillars!?

They also seem like the Trees of Emptiness I've seen in the records. What are those things!?

Those are the dregs of despair!

I burned most of them away. I expected I would track down any that got away and finish the job soon.

However

What do you mean, you burned them away!? Just look at them all!

Hahaha, they appear even taller than the buildings I saw in Tokyo! What's more, they seem to have formed a pack!

The Lostbelt dregs are even larger than those from the Singularities. They're impossible to miss.

They are the enemy that has been clinging to Fujimaru's mind, doing their best to claim his mind and soul for themselves!

Everyone, get ready!

These shall be our final prey!

Crap! That was my Noble freaking Phantasm! It didn't do shit!

Come on, it's not like these things are using Folklore Defense, too! That should at least have done SOMETHING to them!

It is possible that their tremendous bulk lends them defensive abilities on par with Folklore Defense.

Be careful! I can tell they have incredible stores of magical energy built up.

...They're growing.

It used to be that I could burn away the dregs here all on my own.

They were weak; I could erase them with only a single flame.

But these...these are growing!

More than that, they're growing beyond anything I even imagined to be possible!

They have been growing even faster since they wandered into that garden. Now, they keep reviving and growing bigger and more distorted with every nightmare Fujimaru has!

Huh? What's that mean?

Nightmares? Garden? What the hell are you talking abou

Never mind that. The point is, your plan failed and the dregs you left for later grew beyond your control, yes?

That's right. It was my biggest miscalculation, and my greatest regret by far.

This is also why I kept you here, Avengers.

Unless we can burn all these things away, we will have failed to fulfill our duty and Fujimaru will never be able to reach his final destination.

These masses of flesh will continue to grow and swell without limit.

These fragments that have been piling up in the recesses of Fujimaru's mind should have disappeared long ago.

But now, thanks to a near endless supply of food, they are coagulating into something truly malignant...

Food?

You mean, someone's been feeding these things?

I do.

Someone who thrives on chaos. Someone who laughs in the face of Judgment Day.

Someone who transformed his very body into malignant data to infiltrate Fujimaru's mind.

Someone who grew by leaps and bounds thanks to a nightmare in the garden, and who continues to writhe and scheme as he makes designs on Fujimaru's life!

This man with his wicked smile can only be

Right you are. It is I.