Act I: Swan Lake Returns (3/6)

...We're coming to a fork. The path splits into two here.

One way leads to the Chest, where the Central Command Room used to be. The other to the Thighs, which used to house the dock and heliport.

I see. So each area is named after a part of the body.

I suppose that makes this the Hair then. What sort of facility did this area contain?

It housed the submarine cables. It was also fused together with the pump and the power plant.

It should be safe here, even in SE.RA.PH. The Sentinels won't come this far.

But the most important area around here is the Chest. It's possible we'll find survivors in the Central Command Room.

Ah, yes. I agree. Chests are indeed very important. I am partial to those that have grown nice and full.

You don't have to say anything, Fujimaru. You don't have to be around this idiot long to realize how awful he is.

And what is wrong with a man finding a woman's chest attractive? Personally, I believe it to be a sign of excellent health and breeding.

I see. I know I'll regret this, but here goes: what do you think of my chest then?

Hahaha, it is not even worth discussing. But worry not, milady, I am sure you still have much to live for. Now, where was I...

You see, Fujimaru? These are his true colors.

Fortunately, I'm well aware that even in fairy tales, Prince Charming was always discriminatory in his affections. He's just lucky this isn't the moon, or I'd be happily tearing him limb from limb.

Speaking of which, you really should be putting more energy into yours, Meltryllis. So far as I can tell, you are not even trying.

Don't worry, it's not too late toOh, right, I suppose it is, isn't it. My apologies.

I don't need your apologies! Your "politeness" is for shit!

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...!

Well now, if it isn't Sir Gawain. Disgusting... I'm disgusted from the bottom of my heart.

I am truly chagrined to see a knight of your caliber on this battlefield. And furthermore...

...To see a man of your stature happily chatting away with that devil woman, all chummy...

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Indeed, I am Tristan of Sorrow, the Child of Sadness. I say... Are you a Master?

...I am amazed to see that there is still a respectable one to be found here.

...And yet, it also saddens me. I have encountered as many as seven Servants in my time here.

Each and every one of them had been pushed to the brink of madness. It pained me to slay them.

And now, the first Master I meet here is joined by a devil woman.

...It seems that SE.RA.PH is truly hell on earth.

Sir Gawain. Young Master.

I must slay this devil woman at once. Would you be so kind as to move away from her?

Do that, and no harm shall befall you. I shall focus my fury on her and her alone.

(...Master Fujimaru, I don't know why Sir Tristan bears such ill will towards Meltryllis, but he appears to be deadly serious.)

(Furthermore, his bewitched arrows can and will pierce all that he sees without mercy. If we do battle, I cannot guarantee your safety.)

(Please bear that in mind, and answer me this: shall we move away from Meltryllis...or remain near her?)

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Yes?

...

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A fine answer. But alas...it only makes me sadder.

Your willingness to trust in others, no matter who they may be, is exactly what is needed here on SE.RA.PH. Yet it is also a great weakness.

Such innocence will only lead to your death. That foolishness truly pains me...

Pay Sir Tristan's words no heed, Fujimaru. There is nothing wrong with your answer whatsoever.

What's this...? Don't tell me you too have started down the path to madness, Sir Gawain?

If it is madness to remain sane in a land where all others have lost their minds, then yes, I suppose I have.

I recognize that Lady Meltryllis harbors great darkness. I am also aware that she attempts to cut my head off every chance she gets.

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I'm not trying to cut it off! I just want to poke it a little!

And yet, as you can see, there can be no doubt that she is also a proud warrior.

We share the same purpose and the same Master, and we have fought side by side to come this far.

As far as Fujimaru and I are concerned, she is a most reliable ally.

Fujimaru could not think of turning his back on Meltryllis.

...I see. Then there is no need for further talk.

Say what you will! I will not suffer an Alter Ego to live. Prepare yourselves.

Hmph. Getting rather familiar, aren't we, Fujimaru? I thought I told you I wasn't going to fight on your terms.

Still, that command of yours really resonated with me. Like a bolt of lightning splitting a tree.

Tristan, Child of Sadness, was it? Think you can hit a bird on the surface of a lake?

As you wish! Fellow knight of the Round Table or not, if we cannot see eye to eye, there is no recourse but battle!

All the more so if my opponent is a friend driven to delirium! Worry not, Master Fujimaru! I shall strike down Tristan's arrows before they ever reach their targets!

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Got you! It's over, pretty boy!

Yes. For you!

What!?

Nice try, but my body is one hundred percent liquid. There's no way your thin little cuts can stop me...

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Indeed. He is completely at her mercy now.

All that remains is for Lady Meltryllis to use those arms of hers to slash his chest to ribbons.

A liquid body... How careless of me. My arrows can pierce water, but they cannot stop the onrushing tide.

To kill you, I would need a way to deal hammer blow powerful enough to hollow out the ground itself.

...Or perhaps a source of heat great enough to dissipate a lake, such as Sir Gawain's sacred sword...

...

... ...

...Well? The victory is yours. Do you mean to torment me or finish me... Hm?

...Hold it. Have you been fighting in that condition this entire time?

...

...I've had enough.

Now that I've seen you up close, I can tell you're not my type at all. You're not even worth melting.

Gawain, Fujimaru. Finish him off while you have the chance.

...Nonsense. Milady, this victory was yours.

If you refuse to kill him yourself, we have no reason to do so either.

Be honest, Lady Meltryllis. You wish to let him go, don't you?

Are you nuts? Any Servants we spare are just going to get in our way. Of course I want to kill him!

...But I missed my window of opportunity.

Now that I've shown him my trump card, it'll be a lot of trouble to trap him again.

So I'll let you two take care of him.

Settle this now, so he can't come after us again.

Hmm... What would you have us do, Fujimaru?

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Right you are, Master. I am glad to see we agree.

There you have it, Tristan. As a knight, I am sure you know how to pay your respects to the victor.

We have no desire to take your life. In fact, we could use your help.

The vanquished must bow to his vanquisher. Such is the rule of war. I would be most comforted to know you were watching my back.

Huh!? What are you saying? Were you even listening to me!?

I told you to take care of him! As in finish him off!

...Very well. Your Master certainly appears trustworthy, even if I cannot say the same for all of the company he keeps.

It also appears that you are fighting for some deeper purpose than an accursed Holy Grail War.

As you are the victor, and appear honorable, I will join you, if only for the time being.

Of course. That is, assuming Fujimaru has no objections.

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Ugh... Not another Servant...

What's going on? This isn't how it was supposed to be at all...

I thought I was going to be Fujimaru's only Servant...

Thank you again for having me, Master. May I ask your name?

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Fujimaru... That sounds strangely familiar. Regardless, a pleasure to meet you.

It seems that you have your own reasons for being here. I hope you will tell me about them on the way.

However, please bear this in mind: no matter the circumstances, I will not abide Alter Egos.

Fine with me. I'm not expecting you Heroic Spirits to be any help.

Besides, you'll probably die off soon anyway. Think you can at least make a good meat shield first?

Indeed. I excel at keeping my allies safe thanks to my harp of protection.

Of course, it can only be heard by those with a soul. It has no effect on inhuman monsters.

...Oh, nice one. How would you like me to melt you down now after all?

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Hahaha, worry not. For the Round Table, this sort of quarrel is more of a pre-battle warm-up.

As long as they are on speaking terms, things between them will improve in time.

That said, I admit I have never seen Sir Tristan open his eyes to threaten someone before...

But nonetheless, we Knights of the Round Table are very understanding. I expect they will be close friends by the time one of them perishes!

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I see. So this place was once an oil rig...

I'm afraid I was only summoned to SE.RA.PH about ten days ago, so...

I see. So there is still much you do not know. Tell me, have you been fighting in a Holy Grail War all this time then, as BB indicated in her public address?

...You wound me, Sir Gawain.

I may be easily swayed, but I am not so rudderless as to be blown around without a single thought in my head...

I have been exploring SE.RA.PH in an effort to capture this BB, and encountered some Servants along the way.

But, they had lost all sense of reason...and become little more than bloodthirsty ogres.

I could not leave those once great heroes to drown themselves in blood and hedonism.

So, in accordance with my duty as a Heroic Spirit, I put an end to most of the Servants in this area myself.

And yet, even they were mere trifles compared to that thing... It was truly a nightmare...

...I have seen her for myself. I even fought her several times, but each time I was forced to retreat.

She is the ruler...no, the destroyer of this area.

Each of the Servants she finds, she folds in a needy caress before crushing them to death...

That deplorable...bouncy Alter Ego is a Servant's greatest foe...

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Hahaha. Tristan, do try to refrain from getting overly poetic with your descriptions.

Also, did you say "bouncy"? Could you be a bit more specific as to what you mean by that? You're being awfully abstract.

(Ahem) ...Be that as it may, I am afraid I have no better way to describe her.

This Alter Ego differs greatly from our companion, but is a force to be reckoned with nonetheless.

I see... And you say "bouncy" is the most apt descriptor for her?

...It seems you will not be able to grasp the danger she poses until you see her for yourself.

As luck would have it, this fork in our path will take us to the Central Command Room.

It is in what is known as Breast Valley, the domain of this particular Alter Ego.

...Ah, now I get it. That WAS actually a pretty apt description.

(If also a totally stupid one.)

I can hear you, you know... I knew Alter Egos were nothing but pure evil...

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I did. This may be a bit of a diversion, but we'll have to deal with this problem sooner or later, so you may as well see for yourself.

Tristan is talking about another being like me. This way will take us to her domain.

Her name is Passionlip, and she is the Alter Ego of love and hatred. She was born from BB, just like me.

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Well of course you are. Your body's outline has started to disintegrate.

Remember how I told you that humans who stay on SE.RA.PH for a long time get converted into data?

Why am I smiling, you say? Because I enjoy seeing you suffer, of course.

The pained creases on your forehead... The flush of exhaustion in your cheeks... The way you're biting your lip at your fear of being disintegrated...

Mmm, I can't get enough of it. I love seeing your face like that.

It's no joke. It's the truth. This is who I am.

I hate humans, but I get such a thrill from tormenting them. I love it. Not to mention they add to my EXP when I'm done.

I just ADORE listening to them squeal... They're the perfect livestock.

What, this? This is nothing compared to the pain I could dish out if I were serious.

We have bigger concerns just now, not to mention those two Servants are bound to get in my way. So believe it or not, this is me exercising self-control.

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...But don't worry. I won't do anything to you just yet. You're still useful, after all.

And besides, we're allies now, right? So I'll make sure you get to a safe area.

Now buck up already. You've gotten out of worse spots than this plenty of times, haven't you?

The Chest area lies just past that passageway, about five hundred meters from here... Hm?

Hold it. I hear footsteps... Somebody is coming.

Heeelp! Somebody, help meee!

!

A-aah! More evil Servants!? P-p-please, spare me! I don't have anything on me!

This is...

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Wait. That uniform... You're from Chaldea!? Oh thank goodness, someone finally came to help!

Nice to meet you! Now please, help me!!!

My name's Mable Macintosh! I'm twenty-eight years old, and I'm the best robotics operator on Seraphix!

It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, madam.

I am Gawain, and this is Fujimaru. We have indeed come from Chaldea in order to investigate.

Could you please tell us everything you know?

D-don't call me "madam"! Do I look middle-aged or married to you!?

Oh, by the way, you have such a handsome smile! You said your name was Gawain?

What do you do for a living? How old are you? What's your income like?

Oh, and of course, the most important part: you're not married, are you!?

That is a difficult question to answer, milady.

I did indeed have a wife back when I was alive, but now that I am a Servant, that is all in the past.

Not a day goes by that I do not think of my wife.

I am, however, not so old-fashioned as to deny myself the many freedoms that Servanthood offers.

He actually said it. That moron came right out and said it!

... ...Ah.

Aaahhh! A-a-an Alter Ego!?

Not another one!? Oh gosh, I'm dead. I'm as good as dead!

What are people from Chaldea doing with her!? Humans and Egos are supposed to be mortal enemies!

Go on Gawain, finish her off! Chaldean Servants are supposed to be on humanity's side, right!?

Hurry up and kill her! Otherwise

Aaahhh! That thing caught up! Everyone, quick! We have to get out of here!

There's no way you can beat her!

That monster crushed all of the 128 new Servants that got here earlier, all at once!

...Ah. Ah...

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...!?

Indeed. That is Passionlip, the monstrous Alter Ego who rules this area!

Indeed! The likes of which are unknown even throughout Britain!

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Ah... Ah...

Aaaaaahhhhhh!!!

(So you really have been bound... It must be so hard for you. Hang in there, Lip.)

Here she comes! Get ready, Fujimaru! That's the Sentinel that's sealed off this area!

You'll have to defeat the Sentinels if you want to explore all of SE.RA.PH, so see for yourself what that will mean!

Ahh... Ahhh, ahhh...

Fujimaru, over here! She's about to use her most terrible skill...!

Gawain, you take care of that woman! As for you... I see you need no instruction!

No, you don't! I know all about Trash & Crush!

Tristan, take care of Fujimaru! He won't be able to get away fast enough with those human legs of his!

Understood. Apologies, Fujimaru, but we must leave this area immediately!

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You see

Aaahhh!!!

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What was that...!? It seemed as though she compressed the entire passageway into a tiny cube!

She did. That's Lip's id_es skill: Trash & Crush.

She can compress anything within her field of vision into a cube, regardless of how big or strong it is.

This irreversible codec makes her the strongest Alter Ego in terms of sheer destructive power.

Her only real weakness is her mental immaturity, but since her sense of self is being suppressed right now, that won't be of much help to us.

Right now, Lip is nothing but a defense mechanism that crushes everything that comes near her.

Her sense of self...suppressed... How cruel...

But now's not the time for sympathy.

Milady, since this passageway has been compressed, does this mean we can no longer use this route!?

That's right. Nice to see you're paying attention, Sir Gawain. As of now, our path to the Chest has disappeared.

As this area's Sentinel, Lip can still jump between different areas, but we're stuck without a route.

Come on! We need to hurry back to the fork before we get cubed too!

Oh gosh... I thought I was gonna die of fright, watching two Alter Egos fight!

But I'm more scared of the idea of staying here, so please, take me with you!

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Naturally. I won't let the first survivor we've met perish now!

A wise decision, Fujimaru. I can see why Sir Gawain trusts you.

Please allow me to apologize for my earlier rudeness. With you as my Master, I am certain I will not be led astray again.

I, Tristan, knight of the Round Table and Child of Sadness, am truly at your service.

Aaahhh! Aaaaaahhhhhh!!!