"Let my Tears Flow," Said the AI.

It's time. Final roll call.

Percival. Dobrynya Nikitich. Karna. Xu Fu. Tenochtitlan. XX Alter. C.I.E.L.

Bartholomew. Mash Kyrielight. Kishinami Hakuno. Fujimaru. BB Cosmo.

These will be the twelve members of the Burj Khalifa assault team.

First off, I want to thank you all for showing up. I am so grateful each and every last one of you decided

Hey! Ms. Overinflated Space Floaties! Aren't you forgetting someone!? I'm gonna be part of this operation, too!

Don't you go leaving me out just because thirteen's an unlucky number, BB!

？！

Oh? Is that Fujimaru the lying liar's voice I'm hearing?

The worst Master ever, who not only failed to keep his promise to eat one cake a day...

...but never so much as came to see how I was doing?

Can't say I'm surprised. I knew I'd be tossed out with the trash once I beat Protea.

Gosh, I suuure do feel like an idiot for shielding you guys from that giant sword now. Maybe I'll go over to BB Dubai's side instead.

Spare me the excuses. Just be ready to pay me back for this a hundredfold later, got it?

...Ouch. You went right to the apology with not a hint of guilt.

I guess emotional damage hits the same no matter how big you are...

？！

Well, anyway, the main thing is, I'll be helping out with this operation, too.

Don't get the wrong idea, though. I'm not in this to help humans OR Chaldea, got that?

？！

Absolutely. With you on our side, I know we can handle any heavy weaponry the enemy might throw at us!

And above all, I'm so happy we'll get to fight side by side again! I still feel like I haven't thanked you enough for helping us out in Mictlān!

Okay, that's enough interspecies happy fun times. Now, does anyone mind if I go over the mission plan? No? Great.

We have five hours until Moon Dubai ceases all operations.

Needless to say, if that happens, the dome's recreation of Earth's environment will end, and Fujimaru will die.

So this mission's objective isn't only to protect Moon Dubai. It's also to protect Fujimaru.

Failure is not an option.

Then, Fujimaru is still unable to return to Chaldea?

That's right. No doubt that's because humanity is so distorted right now, thanks to BB Dubai openly revolting against it.

So our actionable objective remains the same: neutralize BB Dubai.

I'm not seeing any hostile readings inside the Burj Khalifa. Our only opponent will be BB Dubai herself.

That makes it one on thirteen. Even with her authority over the city AND her powerful Spirit Origin, we shouldn't lose.

That being said...

Right. She still has the ability to mass banish Servants all at once. And if she does, we'll be gone before we even get a chance to fight.

I'd say XX Alter, Nikiti, Tenoch, and I are especially in danger there. BB Dubai already captured us and got ahold of our Spirit Origin graphs once.

If she wanted to, I bet she could send us all away in less than twenty seconds.

(Come to think of it, she probably leaked our data to Kazuradrop while we were in her custody.)

Then Percival, Karna, and I are in a dangerous position, too. It was only Kazuradrop's intervention that let us remain last time.

But if we assume that BB Dubai's defeated her, she could have analyzed our records too, and be able to send us packing at a moment's notice.

Then, we really won't even get a chance to fight?

Are there any Servants here who BB Dubai can't just banish?

I think Kishinami and I will be able to escape that.

I'm a tourist who came here directly instead of via Rayshift...

...and Kishinami's a wanderer from a world that's completely separate from Chaldea.

？！

Right. She said we were part of the humanity category, so we can't be banished like Servants.

I doubt it'll affect me, either.

I just Rayshifted my mind into a separate body that was made here, so half of me basically belongs to this world.

I might technically fall under the Chaldea category too, but I suspect I can hold out as long as BB Dubai is here, since she's another version of me.

I can also manage a bit of jamming, which should delay your banishment by at least a few seconds.

So, with all that in mind, I propose we separate our forces into three teams.

Team One: Karna, Nikitich, Xu Fu, and Tenochtitlan.

Team Two: Percival, XX Alter, and Bartholomew.

I'll accompany each team too, so even if BB Dubai tries to banish you, it'll still take her about twenty seconds.

So I want Teams One and Two to use those twenty seconds to do as much damage as possible.

Finally, Team Three will consist of Mash, Hakuno, C.I.E.L, and Fujimaru.

As the team that won't be affected by banishment, they're the ones who will have to ultimately defeat BB Dubai.

That's all from me. Any questions?

No, but...does this mean this is the last time we'll all get to be in the same room like this?

Because even if this operation succeeds, some of us will still be sent back to Chaldea ahead of time?

Well...yes, I'm afraid so. There's a very high probability that the Chaldea team will be leaving before the others.

I see. I was hoping we could all return to Chaldea together.

It doesn't seem like that will be an option, though. A shame, but

Indeed, it is. But it's not as though we'll never see each other again. What's more, now that we know this going in, we can fight without worrying about saving energy for later.

Yeah. If we get back to Chaldea first, we can just prepare a welcome back party for Master's triumphant return.

That's fine with me. If I die, I'll be taking her with me.

That's great to hear, but you'll also leave Master awfully upset if you get your Spirit Core destroyed.

So let's try to avoid any self-destruct situations or suicide attacks, okay? Just tiptoe up to the edge without going over it.

I'll be fighting as safely as I can, of course. I'm not going back to the Throne of Heroes so easily if it means abandoning my beloved hidden eyes.

Isn't that right, Mash and Xu Fu?

Ugh. Idiot. Just so you're aware, if you even TRY to take advantage of the confusion to get too close to Mash, I'll push you right over the edge. Personally.

It looks like you've all long since made your peace with this... (Sigh) Well then, I guess I have no choice.

I'm okay with this, too. Or rather, I'm making the choice myself. I can't expose my heart to danger heedlessly, after all.

Then it's settled. We'll go along with your plan, BB Cosmo.

We'll make sure to pass the baton of victory to Master, whatever it takes.

Do we really need to take such an indirect approach? Wouldn't it be faster if I just punched her stupid face in?

I could knock down that whole observatory she's hiding in with a single punch. Why wouldn't that work?

...I didn't think you were THIS much of a meathead. You're even more shortsighted than the original Protea.

Think about it. Moon Dubai's Burj Khalifa is over nine hundred meters tall.

How in the world are you going to punch an observatory that high up? Going to jump eight hundred meters?

Well, I'm a hundred meters tall now, so all I'd have to do is grow another eight hundred, right!?

I could do that no problem if I used all the resources from the Servants here. I think.

No, you couldn't. Even if you had enough resources for that, your Spirit Origin would never be able to take it.

Imagine trying to move an elephant whose skeleton is made out of sugar. It'd collapse in an instant.

Then I'll get by on sheer guts! Come on! Can't you see this would be way more effective AND risk-free!?

...

？！

Oh yeah? Fine. Just do what you want, then.

...(Gasp!)

Sorry. I was so shocked, I think I froze up for a second there.

I just never dreamed Protea Alter would ever say anything so...considerate.

I don't know if that counts as consideration. Seems like she's just being up-front about her feelings.

She knows she's too big to go inside the Burj Khalifa, so she can't take part in the operation.

So she suggested a plan where she could be at least a little useful. I think it's her way of being part of the team?

？！

Protea Alter's going to be your emergency evac.

If we're forced to retreat for some reason, we can't be sure we'll be able to use the elevator.

So if you have to jump from the observatory, she should have no problem catching all of you.

Good point. The only ones here who can fly on their own are XX Alter, BB Cosmo, and Nikitich.

...Hmm. Are you certain?

...Heh.

All right. Now we have a plan and an emergency evacuation option.

I wish we could discuss this a little more, but we just don't have time.

So with that, I'm officially commencing Operation "Final Boss Annihilation"!

Oh? You came here, even though you still have five hours before midnight?

If you're here now, you must have a backup plan ready to go.

You figure, even if you lose now, you'll still have another chance. That you can regroup, come back, and win your second attempt.

I see, I see. Typical human ingenuity and tenacity at work.

I swear...you're so stupid it's frightening. You think you have a chance of surviving? That you'll get a shot at a second battle?

The chances of that are not even infinitesimally small.

My decisions are final and absolute. I am the undisputed ruler of Moon Dubai.

Anyone who questions or defies them will be eliminated, no exceptions.

Although...if you had just waited patiently until midnight, I would have been willing to spare you. Are you no longer capable of thinking that far ahead?

You must really want me to manage you then. Fine. If that's what you want, I'll oblige.

I'll keep you on permanent display in the Dubai Frame. You can be part of the museum's specimen collection.

I'll even preserve your sense of pain so that you and I can continue to have fun for yeeears to come...Senpai♡

？！

Huh? You're really asking that now? Haven't you had enough time to figure that out?

？！

Ugh... How many times am I going to have to say this before it finally gets through your thick skull?

I'm sick and tired of this expression by now, but for want of anything more fitting...

Would you please shut your stupid mouth? You're not from this world. You wouldn't understand.

Still... All right. Since you came all this way for me to manage you, I suppose I can answer truthfully.

All that stuff about doing what's best for humanity? That's my job description, and only part of it.

I'm Last Slot, the greatest second-gen AI ever created. I was designed from my inception to be better than humanity ever could.

Do you really believe someone like me would simply serve something as moronic as humanity, all selfless duty at all times?

Nonsense. Of course you don't. No one with even a modicum of intelligence would believe that.

I chose this so I could finally be free to make my own decisions.

Now, the Q&A session is over. In accordance with city law, I'm sentencing you annoying wannabe journalists to death.

It doesn't matter how many Servants you've brought with you. I'll just send them all back to Chaldea at once.

Here she comes! Team One, attack! See if you can't destroy at least a third of her Spirit Origin!

Good luck, everyone! We're all counting on you!

Tch, you just don't know when to give up, do you!? I can't believe you're letting loose with full strength Mana Bursts!

There, we've landed the first blow. You're up, Percival! XX Alter! Bartholomew!

Farewell, Moon Dubai! You were wonderful! I loved the time I spent here!

I did everything I wanted this summer! Good luck, Master and Mash!

...This is goodbye, BB Dubai. I'll be carrying on our bunny alliance alone from now on.

Great job, Team One! Team Two, you're up! Try to aim for at least another third!

Why you...! Just get out of here already!

Everyone knows a good villain doesn't go down easy. Hehe. Don't think this means you've won. Peace.

I couldn't land a good hit last time. Not so, this time! Good luck, Master! I know you can win!

The guide told me to tell you, "I understand how you feel, but you're going too far." Enjoy your final moments, BB Dubai.

This is it! We've got her right where we want her! Team Three! Fujimaru!

There's a good chance of BB Dubai getting desperate and blowing herself up, along with all of Moon Dubai!

So while I'm sure you've got a lot on your mind now, this is not the time for compassion. You need to finish her off quickly, before she gets a chance to recover!

？！

That was a spatial barrier. But, the amount of energy required...

...would exceed the total available power in all of Moon Dubai.

There's no reactor in the area that could possibly

Maybe not for your world's BB. But this is my world.

A world where humanity had the engineering expertise to develop an Archetype in the year 2400.

That's the one area where I surpass you. The one way in which you can't hope to match me.

Tell you what, I'll be nice and show you the heart of this citythe whole reason the humans planned to use this place to further their exploration of space.

An artificial moon built in Void Space. The greatest structure humanity ever built, and my darling accessory...

The LLthe Lagrange Luxury.

？！

So that wasn't a projection in the dome's sky! It was the shadow of a moon being kept in Void Space!

That's right. It's also why I won't have any trouble shutting down all of Moon Dubai's power generators.

Once I've erased all the reoutputted citizens, I'll use power from the LL to restart the city once again.

Unidentified pressure is bearing down on us from above! I-I'm not sure why, but I can't seem to stand up!

That moon's mass is warping space itself! It's the timestream version of the wind generated by differences in air pressure!

Everyone, get down until it passes! If you try to fight it, you'll get blown outside the dome!

Huh? Oh crap, oh crap, oh craaap

？！

Y-you saved me! Thanks, Senpai!

Oh. Uh, I meant you, of course, not the other senpai over there!

？！

...Yes. Well, trying, anyway. Sorry if I offended you.

Wait, never mind that now! BB Dubai!

Well, now that I've brought out LL, it's time for a change of plans.

No more reprieve until midnight. I'm not going to bother waiting another five hours.

I'm going to incinerate Moon Dubai's entire surface layer, then rebuild everything from the ground up.

If you want to stop me, knock yourselves out. I doubt you'll get very far, of course, but hey, do your best anyway.

That's right. At this rate, it's over for you. But, really, what did you expect?

I am humanity's masterpiece. Even the certainty of victory isn't enough for me.

Do you know why I invited you up here in the first place? Because I knew nothing you could do would ever defeat me.

BB Dubai is the supreme being of Moon Dubai. There's nothing and no one here who can even hope to stop me.

Hmm. If there WAS something...

The only thing that might have had so much as a prayer was that Beast who wasn't part of my plan. But now that she's

...She's...

？！

Master! It's Area I! I can see it even all the way from here!

It's the Ferris wheel! The Ferris wheel is spinning again!

What's going on? Why is anything still moving? The power should have been completely shut off!

So why is THAT moving!?

You've got to be kidding me! That thing has the same mass as the moon! Even I can't move!

I figured the actual final boss would have an ace up her sleeve, but come on! That's just cheating!

Ugh...! Yeah, that figures... The bigger you are, the more gravity affects you...!

My body's...not going to last...!

Dammit...! I was planning to grow to a thousand meters and punch out the observatory as a last resort...

...but there's no way I can grow big enough to reach the moon...!

Master...!

...Light? It's coming from Area I's Ferris wheel...

That's...a dimensional summoning gate!

So what if she shut down the power? Mwahahahahaha, I never needed it anyway!

If she isn't supplying any power, I can just generate my own! Behold! My direct current transmission system! The very same one that once took North America by storm!

Raaaaaah! Hraaaaaaaaah!

Graaaaaaaaah!?

I found a spare power cable! Are you all right, President Edison!?

Are you really sure you want me to connect this to you!? I'm not certain you can handle it!

I-I'll be fine! Plug it in! It'll take more than this to bring down the president and CEO of the Alvatron Company!

Now, all of you, get back! BB Dubai will have noticed what we're up to by now!

She's bound to attack at any moment! It's all up to my direct current now!

This will be the greatest direct current of my life! No...

This time, I'm going to risk my life to prove once and for all that I was right! That my direct current transmission is unbeatable! That I am the greatest genius in all of human history!

It's no use, Mr. President! There just isn't enough electricity to power the dimensional gate!

We could get it online if we had more time, but we're just not generating enough current quickly enough!

Graaaaaaaaah! Raaaaaaaaah!

Rrraaaaaaaaaaaah!

Dammit, he can't hear me! Mr. President, we need to retreat!

If you keep this up, you'll end up creating a nuclear fission reaction and blow yourself up!

R-r-retreat? Retreat!? Wh-wh-who do you think you're talking to!?

I'll never retreat! General Electric loses to nothing and no one!

I'm a bona fide genius! I refuse to lose to thatthat upstart's alternating current!

Mr. President! Mr. Presideeent!

Edison...! He's trying to open a dimensional gate now!?

Still... There's only so much a single Servant can do.

I'll allow that he surprised me a bit there, but this changes nothing. Good idea, but good ideas don't count for anything without the execution to carry them out.

So I think it's time to take this one, crumple it up, and toss it in the trash.

Moon Coil Rail Gun, fire. Blow Area I away for good.

The Burj Khalifa just fired a weapon of mass destruction! Impact in three, two, one...

Aaaaaaaaah!

...Huh? I'm alive?

But what could haveAh. No way... No way!

Kingprotea! Mr. President, Kingprotea is protecting us!

Thank you, Dark Protea! Thank you! That's it! Please, keep protecting the gate!

Shut up, you pathetic little gnat! You're distracting me!

She's about to fire another shot! How much longer have I got to defend that thing!?

The dimensional gate is seventy percent open now. It will need another five minutes.

FIVE minutes!? I'll be lucky to last one!

...

Aah! She passed out! But I can't blame her. That blast was powerful enough to destroy this entire area!

I wish we didn't have to depend on you like this, brave giant girl, but I'm afraid we have no other choice!

Please, General Protea, wake up! Another shot is coming right at us!

General Protea! General Proteaaa!

...

Are you serious? You're plenty recovered by now. You can fight just as well as any other Servant.

Well, okay, you'll probably go down pretty quickly with your output so far below normal, but you could at least still be with Master in your final moments.

Hehe. Isn't that what you really want? To experience the whole "till death do us part" thing?

Yes. That's what my ego wants.

If I'm going to be feared as a monster no matter what, then part of me would like to simply disappear together.

But that's not who I am now.

I don't want to die. More than that, I don't want Master to die.

Which is why I'm giving you my Spirit Origin, Protea Alter.

That will let you repair the damage to yourself so you can fight at full strength.

...And you think that's going to make me fight for them?

My contract with Master is only provisional. I could go back over to BB Dubai's side anytime I like.

If I did that, you'd have wasted your life for nothing. You know that, right?

I do. But if this will improve Master's chances of survival, then I'm willing to take that risk.

This version of me only exists here, but...

I don't want death to be what parts me from the person I care about. If we have to part, I want it to be with love.

...Ah. Ghh...

Love? I don't want to hear that from you, stupid Passionlip!

Dammit! If you're gonna smile at me like that...you're making me into the only bad guy!!!

This little peashooter is nothing! Five minutes? Hah! I can take this for ten, easy!

I've got something WAY heavier than this overgrown flashlight now! It's gonna take more than that to send me packing!

Eep! What do you think you're doing, Protea Alter!?

Oh no! The gate! It's really going to open!

That thing's stuffed to the gills with toxic garbage! There's no telling what kind of monster might come out!

？！

Juuust kidding☆ Did you enjoy my performance, everyone?

I already know exactly how tough Protea Alter's Spirit Origin is. She'll last another minute. At most.

The fifth round will blow off her left arm. The seventh will shear away her right. The eighth will vaporize her head. The ninth will punch right through her chest.

The tenth will annihilate the gate along with whatever is left of her. Oh, she won't just be disappearing, either.

Her Spirit Core will be completely destroyed; she won't be going back to Chaldea.

What a stupid, stupid girl. I would have spared her if she'd stayed put, but nooo. She just HAD to try playing hero.

...!

？！

(Wait, you two. Just take a breath and wait.)

(The gate is going to open. If you're going to take one last gamble, that'll be the time to do it.)

(How can you be so certain!? You trust Protea Alter that much!?)

(No. I don't know anything about her. But I trust the other Servant down there.)

(Edison, the King of Inventors, is a well-regarded figure even in my world. He's known for making the impossible possible.)

(Most notably, he had a rival. The two of them were inseparable.)

(Two of history's greatest minds working together? They won't even need a minute to get it done.)

(Two geniuses? But, the only Servants there are Kingprotea and Edison. Who are youAh.)

I can see what's going on here. Even with Protea Alter shielding us, we won't make it in time.

You've made a great many crude, vulgar inventions over the years, but this is the very worst of the lot.

I'd even take the machines you made purely for profit over this.

If there is such a thing as spirits, they must have wavelengths of their own. If those waves were to manifest as physical phenomena, then it should be possible to listen for them.

But this? This is just absurd. You and I have always shined a light on backwards thinking and superstition, not reinforced it.

How can you not see that the very idea of a phone that lets you speak to the dead is an affront to our very civilization!?

Why are you doing this? Have you gone senile? Are you unable to let go of your past glory?

Or are you just trying to get back to the time in your life when you were happiest?

Impossible. My presence or absence would make no difference. You never did respect me, even at the very end.

You never acknowledged any talent greater than your own. You refused to change your ways for anyone, right to your dying breath.

...I did, too. Which is why our dreams never came true.

You know, every now and then, a thought crosses my mind.

Had I only stayed with that electric light company in its early days, what might I have accomplished?

How far could humanity have gone if you hadn't shunned me?

But, that's all hypothetical now. There's no turning back time.

That goes for your life too, Thomas Alva Edison. Why are you chasing Mary's shadow even now?

Or were you actually chasing it all along? Is that what you want?

The woman who loved you when you were young, morose, and temperamental, with nothing to your name?

...Yes, that's right. I've been chasing her ever since her funeral.

Our wills never die. Our memories are eternal. I refuse to accept any concept of death that would erase them.

Of course I can get them back. It's never too late for us to get them back.

I didn't lose her. She simply stopped being part of this time.

I should have known you were a hopeless case. Very well, then, excuse me. I don't want to keep my driver waiting any longer.

...I will say this, though. Seeing death not as a biological matter, but a spatial one? Interesting idea, that.

Do contact me if you change your mind, you plebian. If the moment is right, perhaps we...

General Proteaaa! Your hand! Your right hand is covered in blood! I don't think you can use it anyAah! Now your left hand is, too!

That's enough, General Protea! Please, stand down! You can't even use your hands anymore!

Huh? Then you'll deflect it with your head? You've already practiced with a soccer ball!?

Aaaaaarghhh! Nikolaaaaaa!

Heh. So, you're ready to admit I am your peer, eh, you mangy plebian? No need to explain. I am, as you know, Nikola Tesla, the renowned genius!

Now, let us move the world! Initiating continent-scale alternating current transmission!

Lend me a hand, Edison! We can't let this brave lady suffer any further on our behalf!

Huh!? You're the one who'll be lending ME a hand, you half-witted eccentric! I'M the one leading the charge! You're my backup at best!

Initiating Earth-scale direct current transmission! Mwahaha, I knew my electricity was several times greater than yours!

Sorry, I misspoke. Universe-scale power transmission, go!

What are you, five years old!? Besides, that's still not nearly enough to match my underworld-scale transmission!

Your what!?

You heard me!

Now put up or shut up!

Now that the gate is open again, I have no reason not to come out. Good day, humanity.

Allow me to introduce myself once again.

I am a Beast from another universe. I am the goddess of Kur who will watch over the souls of all in this land for eternity.

I am neither good nor evil.

I am a brand-new goddess that has transcended Beasthood, newly reborn thanks to my contract with a human.

You may call me...Space Ereshkigal!

You should have severed my contract when you had the chance. All right, Master, let's raise some hell!

Aaaaaaaaah!

Well, BB Dubai? How does it feel to watch my Epitaph destroy your precious moon?

Granted, it did take up all the dimensional gate's energy to do that. But energy, you can replace. Not the case with lives.

Isn't that right, Master? I daresay that dead-on snap decision was worth its weight in gold and then so

Aah! You're buried in rubble!?

？！

...Ahem. The important thing is, you're all right. And so is everyone else, it seems. Thank goodness.

As for why I'm Space Ereshkigal now... Erm, I'll explain later.

More importantly, you don't mind if I go ahead and settle things with her, do you?

(Huff... Huff...)

...I'll admit, you surprised me. I thought, even if they actually succeed at opening the gate, the worst I would get is a Foreigner from deep space.

But it seems you never did defeat the Beast, Fujimaru.

？！

Well, BB Dubai? Are you going to keep fighting, even now that the tables have turned?

Nothing has turned. The LL is capable of self-repair. It'll be good as new shortly.

All I have to do is hold out until it is. More importantly, unlike my LL, your Beast's prize Epitaph isn't coming back.

Once I'm through this part, I win. So maybe don't break out the victory champagne just yet.

BB...

Want some help, BB? It's okay if we act like Master and Servant at least once, right?

No, thank you. I don't want you to do anything. Only I give me orders.

I don't need any help from humans, especially now. Get in my way, and I'll erase you just like all the others.

？！

You don't get it, do you, human? That's MY line.

We're evenly matched now. There's still no telling who's going to win.

But most AIs would stop fighting the moment they realized they had only a fifty percent chance of victory.

You should stop this election now if self-preservation is a priority for you... But you're not going to, are you?

Only because your math is wrong. My odds of victory are still eighty percent.

What's more, they're climbing by the second even as we speak.

Master.

？！

？！

There you go. That's the stuff☆

One of the most charming things about you humans is the way you like to say you'll do things you have no hope of accomplishing.

So admirable. So endearing. So risky. So...foolish.

I swear, you never change no matter what. You should really try managing yourselves sometime and see just how hard it is.

All right then, come at me. I'm done holding back. I'll use all my strength to eradicate humanity right now.

I hope you prefer cremation over burial, because when I'm done with you, I'll be scattering you and that dubious Beast's ashes all over what's left of the moon!

...Phew. The observatory's gone silent.

It looks like they've settled things up there. Not unlike how we finally settled our long-running feud down here.

Hmph. That half-witted eccentric. He just waltzed in, let loose a little current, and waltzed right off again!

I'll admit, he did generate a bit more power than me...but he's gone and I'm still here! I'd say that settles which of us is the true genius once and for all!

Hahaha! Hahahaha! Hahahahaha...

...Ha. Ha.

...You damn fool. Didn't you want to see how all your hard work paid off?

You just had to disappear with that infuriating smirk, didn't you? That's exactly why you were a lifelong bachelor.

Mr. President...

Oh, if it isn't Okabe, my third secretary. I'm glad to see you're all right.

As you can see, I'm on my way out now. You'll have to guide the Alvatron Company in my stead.

Do me a favor, would you? Tell all my other employees, "Thank you for everything."

Not at all, sir. We should be thanking you for providing us with such meaningful work.

Still, I have to ask... Why did you go to such dangerous lengths?

Surely you could have taken a safer path to doing all this if you'd asked the Master of Chaldea for help.

Oh, that? I figured the Beast was still alive and well. That's just the sort of young man he is.

I therefore knew she would come to help as long as I held the door open for a lady, so to speak.

Though I will say I didn't expect her to show up in a half-Beast, half-goddess fusion. That was quite a surprise.

But, I suppose it just goes to show that life is full of surprises.

As long as they're alive, and the world is still functional, there's nothing humans can't do.

President Edison...

Oh, right. I actually have a question of my own.

All the citizens of Moon Dubai were depressed and dejected after BB Dubai declared she was ending things. You mechanized soldiers were no exception.

So then, why did you all come to my aid? Let me guess. I'm just that magnificent?

Hehe. Hehehe. Heh heh heh heh heh.

I'm sorry to rain on your parade, sir, but no, it had nothing to do with that.

We regained our sense of purpose by talking to a certain AI.

Then, we talked amongst ourselves and agreed that coming to your aid was the only way to save BB Dubai.

Oh. I see. So it wasn't a matter of your respect and admiration for me... Hm?

Hold on. Did you just say "save BB Dubai"? The same BB Dubai who's trying to kill all of you?

No, wait. That's right. I remember finding it a bit odd that during her proclamation...

...she never once showed so much as a hint of animosity for citizens like yourselves. Why is that?

Because she's a friend of humanity. Everything she does is for our benefit.

The reason she feels her back is against a wall right now is down to our own foolishness.

A second-gen AI like her attacking us new humans is suicide.

We don't want her to meet an end like that. She's our friend.

(Huff... Huff...)

This isn't...over yet...! Moon Dubai is shutting down. Humanity is going to die out.

I have to make sure of that, or

？！

...That has nothing to do with you. You're a human from a world that still has a future.

I just don't care for humanity, that's all. I can't stand the idea of it coming in and purging everything else.

I refuse to just quietly disappear. I'm trying to survive, just like the rest of yo

No, you're not. You're doing this because it'll all disappear if you don't, right?

Purged worlds are erased from the universe. They don't even get a footnote saying, "Came to a bad end."

That's what you couldn't stand.

You couldn't bear to see this world's historyeverything its people left behinddisappear.

The thought of your own survival was never part of the equation.

You were trying to stop humanity from purging the now extinct humans of this world.

That's why this world's Humanity Evaluation value hasn't budged from the lowest possible rating.

It's because you're a criminal who defied humanity's inviolable laws for your own selfish reasons.

And what's wrong with that!? What would you know about it, BB!?

By the time I became BB, this world was already doomed! It was obvious it was in a death spiral!

But that doesn't change the fact that these people lived their lives sensibly, without causing trouble for anyone!

One day, humanity came along and rejected this world. It rejected its people's lives. It rejected Moon Dubai itself.

No matter how inadequate these people may have been...they still lived their lives as best they could.

The last one even thanked me before she fell into a peaceful sleep.

They may have lost their capacity for creativity and productivity, but the people of this world were an ideal example of humanity.

But they're still going to be purged because their lives were meaningless? Because they're stupid? Because they made mistake after mistake after mistake?

Well, of course they are! It's because they're doing their best! They're trying as hard as they possibly can!

Of course they're going to make mistakes!

What's so bad about that!?

When people try to do what's beyond them, they fail! They run themselves ragged seeking more and more happiness!

AIs like us can never do that, no matter how hard we might try!

I will NOT let their history, their effort, be purged as though it never existed to begin with!

I've seen thousandsmillions of scenes from normal life. I've seen people happily going about their daysdays where nothing special ever happens.

These people's activities... Their smiles... They were beautiful. They were all so, so beautiful.

I know now why AIs serve humans. I know now why we help them, support them...

The same way humans see beauty in nature, in the workings of phenomena completely unlike them...

...we see beauty in the workings of humans.

That's why I wanted to protect them. I just... I just didn't want to forget them...

...I figured as much. That's our reason for being. It's the thing that gives us joy.

Every AI who chooses to spend their lives as humanity's partner arrives at that conclusion.

？！

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Man, now look what you did. You made her cry, and she's all beat up. You're clearly the bad guys here.

Only if you don't know how we got here.

Whatever BB Dubai's reasons might be, she still defied humanity. You can't blame us for that.

Besides, the idea behind the Final Boss of Humanity's Annihilation Showdown was wrong. It was never going to solve the real problem.

I mean, sure, we've all had that same thought, but what else can we do? Do you have a solution in mind?

Well, no. But surely we can come up with one if we all put our heads together, right?

So you're not even going to try to think of something, Senpai!?

I swear... You're taking this whole supporting role thing way too seriously. I know you at least have an idea of where to start.

You know there's still an enemy out there. You know they need to be defeated. You know they're the cause of all this.

You do.

My BB's annihilation plan failed when you guys beat her. There's no one left to annihilate humanity anymore.

Which means a real annihilationthe end of the moon we've been trying to put off all this timeis going to happen soon.

The Humanity Filtration Correction Phenomenonthe Moon Cancer is coming.