Section 3: Systematic Underground Labyrinth

Good, they're finally here.

It's about time. I was beginning to think I'd made this Singularity for nothing!

...You sure. About this?

Sure I'm sure. Don't worry, the plan is perfect. All you have to worry about is the Labyrinth.

She's right, Asterios. Don't worry. You're in good hands with this witch!

This is...definitely the Labyrinth.

Right.

Master and I have been here a few times before, so I can confirm that it's a dangerous place prowled by Demonic Beasts.

Please be careful as you make your way through it, Master.

Who the hell does this person think they are, building something like this on MY island!?

You mean it isn't your fault this thing's here?

Are you kidding? Who in the world would want to make a tacky labyrinth like this?

My paradises are strictly aboveground affairs. The underworld's more my mentor's shtick.

...Hm? Is that...a signboard?

There's something written on it. Let's see...

"Abandon all hope, ye who enter here."

...That's it.

...So, who else is ready to head back now?

You always say that after we go somewhere new! Not that I disagree this time.

There will be no heading back.

Guh...

So, we'll need to risk our lives to proceed, hm? Interesting. Let's go then.

Don't you think you should take at least a few precautions before you go charging into danger?

Ugh, I swear, you warriors are all the same.

Come ooonnn, let's just go back the way we caaame.

Okay, that might not be charging headlong into danger, but it's just as irritating in its own right!

No, seriously, I'm getting an extremely bad feeling about this.

I see. All right, let's be off.

That's that then. Oh, yes. Say cheese.

Would you lay off the shutter button!? I keep smiling even though I don't want to!

What are you nitwits doing!? Let's go already!

It seems we have another signboard.

"Fire walk with me."

...That's what it says.

Hmm.

Oh.

？！

Are you all right, Master?

Not to worry, Mash. I made sure those flames didn't get near him.

Are you okay, Circe?

Huh? Wha...? Er?

You were caught in that fire, weren't you?

I-I-I'm fine! It was nothing! I'm the queen witch, remember!?

Queen witch or not, surely you can't be fine after being caught in a fire.

Well I am, okay!?

Hecate herself gave me this robe. It's not gonna burn up in a little fire like that.

Even so.

Khh... Well, anyway, I appreciate the concern.

By the way, anyone else notice we're at a dead end?

Huh?

...So we are. Hmm.

I bet it's one of those things where the way forward only reveals itself once certain conditions have been met.

"Fire walk with me."

Hmm...

Walk with me, eh...? Circe, come with me.

Huh!? Y-you want me!? To go with you!? Why should I!?

I just had an idea. If we are supposed to walk alongside the flames...

...then perhaps that means we need to proceed while cloaked in this fire.

What? Don't be silly. How're we supposed to wear fire?

True, maybe we can't. But we can catch it.

?

...Ohh!

Master, I know this is short notice, but we need to fight the fire filling this room!

We'll then need to bind it before it goes out and walk with it!

？！

O flames, I command thee: burn brighter, fall to ruin, and be reborn!

That is the never-ending cycle of life and destruction. Come forth, devilish creatures of flame!

Now I see.

You turned the fire into an enemy we can fight. Very clever.

All right guys, good luck! I know you've got this!

(Wow, he's not even pretending like he's going to join the fighting himself.)

(I'll just go ahead and add this to the report I'm writing for Medea...)

There, we got one!

How's this, Labyrinth!?

It worked. The wall opened up and there's a new path.

It looks like you had the right idea, Odysseus.

(Yawwwn)... Oh, are you done now?

Why did you even come along if you weren't gonna help out!?

We did it.

Hell yeah we did.

... ...

Wait. Who said we could high-five!?

I think I'm starting to understand now. You are quite strong once you've warmed up.

Why're you smiling about that!? Cut it out!

Anyway, the important thing is that the way forward's unlocked now. Come on, let's go!

Agreed!

First fire, now ice, huh?

And no signboard this time, apparently.

Hm? I can see a way forward over there.

Well, this looks easy enough. We've just gotta melt our way through that ice.

Okay Arjuna, go ahead do the thing. You know, with your bow?

You mean Agni Gandiva? Unfortunately

What? You don't think you can do it?

Of course I can. If anything, I'm worried about overdoing it.

If I'm not careful, a single shot from my Noble Phantasm...

...could easily end up destroying the Labyrinth entirely.

Well, we definitely don't want that. Not unless you want to be buried alive.

Then I'll hold back as much as possible.

But I'm also going to give it all I've got, just to be sure nobody thinks I'm not up to the task!

(Ooh, I don't like where this is going.)

Come, Agni, lend me your strength! This will all be over in an instant!

Agni Gandiva!!!

Ooh, now that's a photo op!

A-aah! All the ice melted! (Glub glub)

？！

Oh, don't worry. It's not a big deal.

Great. Now we're all completely dren

(Hang on, I just realized something. Circe's only wearing linen, right?)

(So does that mean her outfit's see-through right now? And does THAT mean she's...basically indecent?)

(Not that it matters to me either way... except for how she might react.)

(She might act pretty...wacky most of the time, but she's still the greatest witch in all of Greece.)

(So she probably wouldn't hesitate to turn any human that saw her in all her glory into a monster.)

(And that would mean Master's in danger if he happens to lay eyes on her before she's dry.)

(Guess I'll just have to take one for the team then. Sorry about this, Master. I'll buy you an ice cream later to make it up to you.)

(Heh... All that aside, check out how fast I'm thinking. I always knew I could match those gloomy Caster's Thought Acceleration.)

Oh no! My hand slipped!

？！

Ugh, great, now I'm soaked.

What about your outfit? Are you decent?

Decent?

Psh. Who do you think I am?

I'm Circe! Disciple of Hecate, and the queen witch of all Greece!

There's no way I'd ever be caught dead in see-through clothes!

I see. Or rather, I can't see.

？！

...I'm sorry. I guess my heroic mind was a little too sharp in this case.

I can't believe it! Jason's actually apologizing!

Does that really count as an apology...?

Anyway, why do you ask? Were you hoping to sneak a peek at my bare body or something?

No, I wasn't.

I just didn't want a young maiden like yourself to suffer any humiliation.

...S-s-s-stupid iron man!

Did I say something wrong?

Eh, that's just how she is. Though I am starting to get a clearer picture of what's going on.

What a lovely candid moment. Say cheese.

Piss off!!!

Well, that's too bad.

I thought her inadvertently baring all would make him feel responsible and start to chip away at that brick wall...but I guess it's just not going to be that easy.

But hey, at least they're getting along well.

It's true! This is wonderful! I'm so glad I asked now!

So what next?

Next... Hehehe. I think I might have just the thing.

We've got another signboard here. What's this one say, Arjuna?

Let's see...

"Destroy the paradox. That is the only way to the next room."

"Keep moving forward without looking back."

The end.

？！

Oh, hello. What are you all doing

Please, you have to believe me. Both Shakespeare and that statue are lying liars!

My door is the only one you can trust!

Me, a liar? Perish the thought.

Mephisto there is the liar. He and the statue both!

Therefore, it stands to reason that only my door can be trusted.

Trust the gods... Trust this god...

Both Mephisto and Shakespeare are lying liars...

Trust the gods... The gods never lie...

Which means my door is the one and only genuine article...

Um... What's going on?

Don't ask me, Shielder.

All I can say is that only one of these doors is the right one.

So we have three people, each in front of a different door.

I suppose this means our task is to choose the correct one.

But the only leads we have to go on are these three's testimonies...

So this is the paradox.

Somebody here is lying, and somebody is telling the truth.

Except...is that even possible when we don't know how many of them are liars?

Good question.

For example, say that Mephistopheles is telling the truth.

By extension, that would mean that both Shakespeare and the statue are lying.

However, the statue is also telling us that Mephistopheles and Shakespeare are the ones lying.

And here, we have a fatal contradiction.

Because if the statue is lying...

...that would mean both Mephistopheles and Shakespeare are telling the truth.

Indeed. And the same holds true for all of them.

This results in a paradox. That is to say, there is no correct answer.

？！

So even if one of them is a liar, and another one isn't...

...You're right. It just doesn't work.

Circe.

Hm?

I'd like to know what you think.

Hmm. Well, this is definitely a riddle.

Indeed.

So the way I see it...

...whoever came up with this riddle's bound to be a natural-born jerkface of the highest degree.

Which means there's no point taking this at face value.

...What do you mean?

The right answer...

...is to go back the way we came.

Huh!?

Oh, on a different note:

Hey, Teach? Can I get a do-over on that shot? I just know I was making a really weird face.

No, my furry friend. Once a photo op is gone, it's gone for good.

Aw maaan.

Circe, what do you mean we need to go back?

It's simple.

The signboard's the real liar here. Those three are just a sideshow.

Hmph.

The signboard...? Aha, now I see.

So by "Destroy the paradox. That is the only way to the next room"...

...it really means "You don't have to destroy the paradox. There's another way to the next room."

And by "Keep moving forward without looking back"...

...it really means "Turn around and go back."

So everything is simply the reverse of how it seems. Apparently I was overthinking this.

Guess it was a tough problem for a stuffed shirt like you, huh?

Heh... I can't argue with that.

Though of course, I still can't say for myself whether I truly am a stuffed shirt orHm?

Us, a sideshow!?

While I cannot deny the truth in your words, neither can I let you simply turn around and leave.

I...don't really care either way...

But I also don't like the idea of you guys leaving while thinking I'm just a big joke...

So I'm going to crush you, god-style...

Oh come on! Why're you giving us a hard time now!?

Not one of you even likes exerting yourselves!

As they say, there is an exception to every rule...

Here we go! Iiit's duel tiiime!

Whoops! Guess you got me good! Maestro, some dramatic music, please!

Huh? Forget about it? Oh, fine.

Well boo.

Ahh, what a pity!

If you had only chosen my door...

...I would have put you through tribulations great and small before ultimately ushering you to a dead end!

... ...

I'm exhausted... I just wanna go back to Chaldea and lie around doing nothing...

Oh, right, I almost forgot... I've got a reward for you guys for figuring out the riddle...

Faaareweeelll...

Hey! If anyone's exhausted here, it's us!

I'll say. I never expected to fight other Servants here... Hm?

What's up?

...Aha. I see. So I'm Odysseus.

!

Did your memories come back?

Partially, yes.

？！

Well, I now know my name really is Odysseus.

And I know that I fought in the Trojan War, which I just barely managed to survive.

...Of course, that's all from when I was still alive.

Though if nothing else, I've also managed to recover my personality.

What about me? Do you remember me now?

Hahaha. Sorry, still nothing there.

...Well, that's okay. It might even be for the better that way.

You think so?

Personally, I'm still interested to know what sort of relationship we had when I was alive.

... ...

All we did was hurt each other.

You'd hurt me, I'd hurt you, then we'd do it all over again. Nothing good came of it.

... ...Is that really true?

Yeah, it is.

I see.

Well, I can't argue with that. Not without my memories.

What, you think I'd even let you argue with me? Need I remind you again that I'm the queen witch?

Good point.

What? What's with the attitude?

Don't worry about it. This is just what I'm like, apparently.

Yeah, I guess. At least until he gets his memories back.

The real question is what happens after that.

Good question.

I don't think it's as simple as her just hating him or missing him... Feelings can be complicated things.

？！

Furthermore, as far as I know, Odysseus was a married man when they met.

That's right.

Odysseus's wife waited a long, long time for him to come back to her.

Ah yes, Penelope.

I heard she was practically swarmed by would-be suitors while she was waiting for Odysseus.

Wish I could've got to know her...

You would only have been wasting your time.

Hey, I'm no quitter! As long as I've got a chance, I'm still gonna go for it, even if the odds are a hundred-to-one!

Hmm, what a fine masculine expression. Say cheese.

I think I'll call this one "Orion Proclaiming His Infidelity."

Haha, that's funny, Teacher. If I didn't know better, I'd think you were trying to kill me.

Hahaha.

You're not even denying it!?