Section 8: The Final Scrap

It's like an entirely different place now...!

There are automata all around the area where the flat used to be!

And they're not the only ones.

Where did all these ghosts and automata come from!? There's enough here to overrun this whole patchwork!

...The building doesn't even look like a flat anymore... It's just a mountain of ghosts and automata...

And the one that made it to the top first is kicking down any others that try to get close. It's like some bizarre version of king of the hill.

Senpai! I'm seeing the paper's magical energy on our end, too!

You found it too, huh, Mash? Then it looks like we're at the right place.

Although those things must have found the paper my brother had on him before we could get to it.

They must have found out we'd discovered it thanks to whatever they did to track us...

Oh, you're all here too.

Astraea...!

That must be where the last slip of paper is. Quite the spectacle taking place here.

As I suspected, those Mnemosyne slips must be like fragments of a Holy Grail.

No wonder they seek them so desperately. They're pure, crystallized magical energy, powerful enough to transform the very land we stand on.

In which case, I think it's time for me to pass judgment on these poor souls wandering purgatory.

This is the lightness of your good deeds, and this, the weight of your sins.

Astraea's using her Noble Phantasm...!

My treasury is this starry night sky.

The hour of judgment is upon thee. State thy name, and accept thy sentence. Custos Morum!

She just blew away every last ghost and automaton with magical projectiles...

Her sheer power and range are incredible...! Forget jewel magecraft. She was practically blasting them with meteors!

This is what true arbitration looks like. My scales always balance for justice.

Now then, if you'll excuse me.

She made a path through those ghosts and automata like she was parting the damn sea! There's nothing stopping her from walking right up to the flat now!

？！

Right...!

She doesn't care if her projectiles hit us, either! Watch your head, and let's keep moving!

I'll guide you along the safest possible path!

Thanks! That'll be a big help!

Phew, I'm finally close enough to see the paper for myself.

But there's still no end to them, even after coming all this way!

It's a goddamn swarm! And nothing we do is gonna scare off the ghosts or the dolls!

？！

I know that! But time ain't exactly on our side here!

Astraea's almost to the paper...

That took longer than I would have liked, but oh well. Now then, I'll just take this and be on my way.

Dammit! We've got to stop her!

？！

Hey, I already told you we have a real shot at victory now, didn't I? Would you mind, Gray?

...Not at all.

？！

Gray... Rave...

Crave... Deprave...

The hell was that!? That was way too close for comfort!

Nobody gets in the boss's way as long as I'm around.

Damn, I figured he might be here too! Ugh, and the automata and ghosts aren't letting up one bit, either!

I know how dangerous you guys can be, so I will use whatever it takes to give myself an edge.

Damn, this kind of chaotic battle must be right up his alley!

Reines!

Don't worry about me, Gray! I've got my pupil here backing me up! Isn't that right!?

？！

Just what I like to hear! Come on, let's take care of these guys while Gray gets ready!

Khh...!

Now, Gray!

Heeheehee! What a great night this is! I'm in a great mood now after chowing down on all those steam ghosts!

Gray... Rave...

Crave... Deprave...

？！

Where the hell did all that magical energy come from!?

Quantifying Noble Phantasm rank... C... B... It's still rising...!

Grave...for me...

What...IS this...!?

Grave...for you...

Pseudo-personality suspended. Magical energy yield exceeds regulation. Second stage restraint rescinded.

What are you up to!? Wait. That Noble Phantasm...

It's supposed to be

Sacred lance, removing restraints.

？！

So you're familiar with it, huh? That's right. Gray is sort of like a distant descendant of King Arthur.

Arthur's Noble Phantasm is called Excalibur.

As one of the greatest sacred swords ever made, it collects the planet's very breath and unleashes a torrent of life.

I'd bet it's probably the single most famous Noble Phantasm in all the world.

But, it's not the only Noble Phantasm that made King Arthur invincible.

There's another armament in the legend of King Arthur. It's the shadow of an anchor sunk in the planet, holding the texture of humanity firmly in place.

It can shoot down the night sky itself and lay waste to any Mystic in its path. It is the Tower at the Ends of the World!

This is the lightness of your good deeds! And this, the weight of your sins!

My treasury is this starry night sky!!!

The Noble Phantasm Gray inherited is none other than King Arthur's sacred lance itself...

This is the lance that shines to the Ends of the World...

Rhongomyniad!

The hour of judgment is upon thee. State thy name, and accept thy sentence. Custos Morum!

No way... Even my Noble Phantasm can't hold it back!

That light... What incredible power...

Aaah!

Astraea's broken her stance! Now's your chance! Run! We'll fight off the automata and ghosts on the way!

There! We made it through!

Senpai, get the Mnemosyne paper!

That's it, Senpai!

？！

Enemy units are moving faster! I count forty in total! They'll catch up to us, Master!

If push comes to shove, then I'll...

No, you can't possibly handle that many, Sir Bedivere.

？！

Pity. I'd have let you deal with it if that Round Table knight was alone.

？！

Don't worry about it. Everything's fine. These are your memories.

The enemy Servant's closing in! I'll fight her off, Master!

If I don't stop her here, everyone who fled to the container will suffer the consequences...!

No need for that! They'll never catch up to us at this pace!

One more step and victory is ours! I'll bring up the rear. The rest of you

？！

Oh, but they are. Your memories were always like this.

These are exactly what your memories are supposed to be. You yourself have accepted these as truth.

At this point, they are the only truth. Accept them, and your grief and suffering will all go

Stop that!

What the!?

That was close... If you'd collected all of that Mnemosyne, it would've been curtains for us.

It can't be...

Huh... How...?

You're...

Too bad. I was hoping to lay low for a little longer.

You might have already figured this out, but let me get this out of the way: these Mnemosyne papers are a trap.

A trap? What are you saying, brother!? For that matter, how are you even here? You were dead!

I-I was wondering the same thing. Are you really El-Melloi II?

I can understand your confusion, but think about it. A normal Servant would never leave a body behind.

？！

So you remember that now, Fujimaru? Yes, Zhuge Liang uses my body for a vessel, making me a Pseudo-Servant.

So as long as certain conditions are in place, it is possible for me to leave a body behind in the event of my death. That is what I took advantage of here.

Since I essentially have two Spirit Origins, I used my Zhuge Liang one to create that body.

You detached your Spirit Origin? Even though you're a Pseudo-Servant!?

It wasn't easy, believe me. And in consequence, most of Zhuge Liang's power is now gone.

But in this case, losing most of Zhuge Liang's power and Spirit Origin also has some significant upsides.

It was impossible for the enemy to track me in this state, regardless of how sharp their sensors might be.

After all, no one would expect a tactician of Zhuge Liang's caliber to only have as much magical energy as a common mage.

Hell, I bet it never even crossed their mind, no matter how much attention I might've called to myself!

Hmph, I guess whoever's behind all this just couldn't care less about a rubbish non-Servant mage like me!

？！

Oh yeah, that's my brother, all right. A big, walking, talking inferiority complex of a third-rate mage.

Why would you go to all that trouble...?

Because I had to go into hiding, of course. And those slips of paper are why.

I've been using the time I bought to analyze them, and I learned something very interesting in the process.

Memories in this Singularity possess some highly unusual properties.

For one thing, memories don't normally have much in the way of magical energy, but here, they can provide vast amounts of it.

Conversely, this paper uses massive magical energy to manipulate others' memories.

？！

That's right. This paper fabricates memories. That's been the true goal here all along.

Yes, I expect your memories were initially stolen when you first entered this Singularity.

But stealing memories is one thing. Fabricating completely new ones is quite another.

You've already remembered some things by encountering Servants you've met in the past here, haven't you?

That's exactly why the one behind this had to employ more cunning measures to overwrite your memories.

...Like what?

They hid these pieces of paper in each patchwork explicitly to have their target collect them himself.

Having the target collect them of his own volition enables things that would normally never fly to sneak past without suspicion.

I expect the mastermind kept the first two pieces practically identical to the target's memories, only to plant a complete fabrication in the third.

Magecraft and Mystics are fundamentally built upon that kind of deceit.

？！

Are you sure about that? Did you confirm the veracity of those memories with anyone?

Oh! Fujimaru is a member of Chaldea, right? I bet they could verify his memories!

I see. True, Chaldea almost certainly could determine whether Fujimaru's memories are genuine or falsified.

So on that note, I have a question for you.

I'm sure you've received a transmission or two from Chaldea by now, but I'm guessing Mash is the only one there you could speak to, right?

？！

Fabricating memory is a difficult endeavor. Even after you've managed to implant new ones, you need to keep a close eye on them to see how well they took.

So the one behind this would need to do just that, as well as make sure you stuck to the path they wanted you to follow.

And the best way to do so is under the guise of someone you trust completely. Someone you would never suspect.

Someone we would never suspect...?

No way... Then, the "M" you wrote in your dying message was meant to be...

That's right. Mash, of course. The Mash you've been talking to here is an imposter.

She's gone!

？！

Relax, the real Mash is fine. Your communications are still being jammed, but that's all.

She's probably worried sick about you, but in the meantime, you have other things to take care of.

How so?

For our mastermind to impersonate staff from Chaldea, they would of course need information on Chaldea.

And it would be impossible for someone native to this Singularity to obtain that information.

That means whoever is behind everything wouldn't be able to do all this with only information obtained in this Singularity. They must have a connection on the outside.

I see. That makes sense. All right then, what do you propose, brother?

That brings me back to this paper.

I couldn't turn up anything else in my own analysis, but I bet Sir Babbage could dig considerably deeper.

What do you say, Lady Astraea?

So, you know about me too, do you? Fine, I'll go along with this.

Is that all right with you, Kerry?

Fine by me. Whatever the client wants, the client gets.