Section 8: Give Up on Everything but Summer

Oho.

So even this place has been bleached away.

I thought the North Pole might be an exception.

But no...I see it is just as blank as everywhere else.

Nothing but pure white as far as the eye can see, no matter where one goes.

Very well. I can work with this.

...Yes, I think this will do nicely.

As you wish, my lady.

Then I shall make a Singularity here in the arctic.

Knowing you, I am sure your wish will be granted, O wild one.

Though I must say, I was quite surprised.

I didn't think one such as yourself would bring such a savage Spirit Origin to Chaldea.

Hm? This? A bit of whimsy. Nothing more.

What will you do this time? Will you attempt to become a Beast once again?

Ha, not at all. Nnnnnn, surely you jest, my lady. The others aside, I would never dare to compete with Lady Kama.

Ahem. What I meant to say is, that was Limbo's doing, yes?

I have no personal knowledge of such things, I assure you.

Fu. Fufu. You never fail to make me laugh.

Now then...what sort of Singularity would you like to make?

You may give the Holy Grail your orders directly, or you may command me to do so instead if you prefer.

Fu...

Then I want you to find someone filled with love and compassion. Right away.

Whether these things stem from karma or resentment does not matter to me.

Only one who seeks love in place of lamentation is fit to make use of this.

The Holy Grail. Are you sure you don't wish to use it yourself?

I am a god. Were I to use a Holy Grail in this land, I would become truly wild.

And a wild spirit cares naught for anything.

Of course, such is the purpose gods have always served.

Yes, my lady.

So yes, I shall make a Singularity here. But it will not be I who furnishes it.

That, I shall leave to one who is full of love and compassion. Fu, fufu...

Now, bring me such a person.

I will have them remake this blank land into an eternal paradise, and rock my wild spirit to its core.

...Master?

？！

So that was your famous REM REM state! Don't worry, it only lasted about 3.2 seconds.

Nothing's changed. Douman's still smiling that smug smile...

...and an incredibly hostile-looking Divine Spirit Ibuki-Douji is still right here in front of us!

？！

An eternal summer paradise...

So you do not care for it. I see.

...Huh?

Surely you do not reject summer itself. You always enjoy summer so flippantly.

Then is the problem my paradise? Is that what you do not enjoy?

...No, it is not that, either. It is eternity you see as sinful.

... ...

Why?

There can be nothing which truly endures for eternity.

Gods are no less subject to that truth than humans.

The stars, the moon...even the vast expanses of space will not last forever.

But even so...we must continue to strive for eternity.

This Singularity was meant to seek the eternal. Even should humanity end and this planet be wiped completely clean...

...this Singularity will continue to strive to create an eternal paradise. I have decided that it shall be so.

How could that be sinful?

C'mon. It can't be that bad, right?

？！

？！

... ...

...Humanity, huh?

？！

Ice fish!?

I thought those were Skadi's familiars!

They're not Skadi's. They belong to this Singularity's true mastermind, Ibuki-Douji!

Fou!

They do look a lot like Skadi's at a glance, though!

You must have really not wanted to reveal yourself earlier, huh?

...But if your expression right now is anything to go by, it seems like that may not have been the case.

Was it that you didn't want to be found out, but still wanted to stay close to Master? Am I right?

An emotional decision, huh? I think I kind of get that, but I'm not totally sure...

Skreee!

Yikes! Okay, guess that means I was right!

So it wasn't not Skadi interfering with our efforts all this time. It was Ibuki-Douji!

But there's no time to think about that now. Now's the time for my mystic sword!

Let's go, Aned.

Bow!

Grrr, stay out of my way, fish! I cannot see that cocky Ibuki-Douji with you blocking my view!

Damn, these fish are as strong as Servants. Ugh, this is going to suck.

I can confirm that they're all in a very agitated state! And like Lady Avalon said, they each have as much magical energy as your run-of-the-mill Heroic Spirit!

？！

You got it!

Beginning combat synchronization. Prepare for high-mobility combat!

SKREEEEEE!

If you mean to reject my eternal summer, then come and find me.

Find me, and rock my wild spirit to its core.

Do that, and I shall let you spend this fragile summer as you please.

Here, Lady Douji. This way.

Ibuki-Douji and Douman are on the move! They're headed inside the tower!

Then we'd better take care of these things quickly! Shall we!?

？！

Yaaah!

Those weren't ice fish at all...

They were just giant piranhas covered in a layer of ice. Talk about freaky.

You think so? I thought their beady little eyes were kind of cute.

Their eyes? I, uh, can't say I thought about them like that...

I have no particular problem with them, save for them having the gall to attack me! At least they're all gone now. Come, Master, let us be on our way!

That Ibuki-Douji is a poor excuse for a mastermind. In fact, now that I think back on it...

...that whole incident with her in my haunted house only happened because she assigned herself to manage MY area!

And I very nearly fell for it!

Maybe this means she's actually a good hands-on general manager? ...Oh, wait. I guess a general manager and a Heroic Spirit with a Holy Grail aren't really the same thing at all, huh.

Some things can only be done by those who stand at the very top. In my experience, micromanaging is rarely a productive approach.

I see. Guess you would know, being an empress and all.

...Come to think of it, that whole incident at the hot spring was Ibuki-Douji's fault, too. Not only was she not helping things, she even caused the whole mess in the first place.

And of course, there are the ice fish, too. So, while she's been getting in our way

She's also been helping each area improve their business.

This makes no sense...

No, wait. She said something about this place being an eternal paradise...

It is possible that she truly wants every visitor to enjoy themselves. If that's her intent, she cannot let this Singularity be erased too quickly.

That would seem to explain it, yeah.

But either way, we still can't let a Singularity take root permanently. We've gotta get that Holy Grail back!

？！

Right! We'll make our way toward the tower, but we'll stay alert!

Looks like we're nearing the endgame then. Let's make the most of it!

Fooou!

I'm seeing what appears to be the Holy Grail's magical energy signal coming from the top of the tower. It looks like Ibuki-Douji and Douman are there, too!

They all seem to be on the path right beneath that glowing sphere. So far, the sphere appears stable.

I'm not seeing any magical energy signals or hostiles on the stairs leading up to

Woah!

Multiple hostiles just appeared up ahead of you!

Skreee!

Great, more fish. And if that wasn't bad enough...

Shadow Servant-type hostiles confirmed. And they all have high magical energy readings!

Changing Spirit Origin to maximize combat abilities. Battle preparations complete.

These guys look pretty strong. As much as I would love to take some time for a proper spar with them, I can see we need to hurry right now.

I swear on my sword, we WILL make it past them!

Dammit, they're not even pretending to be ice fish anymore!

We'll wear ourselves out pretty quick if we have to keep this up.

Hmm, I see, I see.

It looks like the Shadow Servants are imitations of the Servants we've seen in the other areas thus far.

And since we haven't run into the same ones twice, I am betting they can't just keep popping up infinitely.

Well that's good to hear. How about the fish?

Hmm. Those, I can't say!

Now there are even more of them! There may be a limit on the shadows, but what about the fish!?

What a haul!

Is that really the right sentiment just now...?

Duck, or you'll get burned.

？！

I tried everything I could think of, but could do nothing to interfere with the tower's operation.

I can't say this makes up for that, but it should be better than nothing.

？！

Yeah, we're here! And right after we said goodbye, too!

And Laughing Boy here wouldn't even tell us what the hell's going on!

I absolutely did.

Whatever shit you said doesn't count!

Explain it better, dammit!

O-one moment, the Count of Monte Cristo was inviting us along, and the next thing we knew, we were here.

I'm, um, guessing the priest is up to no good again?

Aw man, when's Mambo-chan finally gonna learn? I told him he was gonna have to take the L on his next evil scheme. Like all the ones before it.

'Course, I guess there's one really simple reason he's gonna fail again.

We're gonna do whatever it takes to stop him!

Hehe, yes. Let's throw every conceivable obstacle in his path.

Bad things can and do happen...but it's also in humanity's nature to rise up and fight against them.

Wow, this is really something. I never thought I'd see so many Heroic Spirits gathered in one place!

It looks like every one of the Servants we've seen in each of the other areas are here. Quite the sight. But how did you all get here?

(Huff, huff...) Dammit, I am NEVER doing that again!

Even between Caenis's protection and my runes, just getting here took a hell of a lot out of us.

To make matters worse, that cackling bastard and his entourage slowed us down.

Maybe that's not true for every Servant in this Singularity, but still.

Anyway, we're here to back you up, Master. Want us to handle the fish and shadows?

You got it.

No need to thank us. Just go finish this.

？！

All right, hear that!? We're handling the chumps out here, so the rest of you, get lost!

And you probably already know this, but I'm gonna say it anyway...

If you're gonna have me, Caenis the Divine Spirit, mop up weaklings, then you'd better win, or I'll kill you myself!

...This is it. You've arrived at the top of the tower.

I'm picking up the Holy Grail up here, as well as Ibuki-Douji and Douman.

Well, this place is certainly impressive.

I've never seen the sun depicted quite so...directly. This seems less like a Reality Marble and more like...

...almost divine, maybe?

Oh? You're here earlier than I expected.

？！

Mmm...

Just so we are perfectly clear, I am still your Servant, Master.

If that is truly what you want, then I will happily obey your orders.

But first, Master, let me be certain of one thing.

Are you truly prepared to match yourself against a god?

That Lady Ibuki-Douji is a wild god: a dread monster with the heavenly scales tipped all the way in her favor.

She could not be more different from the ditzy Lady Ibuki-Douji we see day in and day out.

A dread monster...

A dread monster, huh?

Not even the Counter Force is likely to be much help in a Singularity. Press your luck...

...and you WILL die.

Eternal summer, was it?

What could be so wrong with that? Why not relax and simply enjoy the festivities as long as you like?

？！

？！

Mmm, I see. So you won't change your mind.

Well, I can hardly say this is unusual for you.

Then I shall stand as witness to your lifeyour struggletill the very end.

I will watch from a front-row seat until the curtain finally comes down on all of this.

Now please, go right ahead. And do be careful not to let the mid-sky sun incinerate you.

Come forth, Midsummer Daimyojin, new sun of the Arctic!

The wild spiritDaienen Ibuki-Douji!

It is said that one day...

...the world will disappear in a torrent of white.

If that is so, then I shall begin it anew.

That was my thinking. That is what I told Scáthach-Skadi.

It is why I created this eternal summer.

？！

You are the reason.

You always seemed to enjoy it very much.

The summer spent on a warm tropical island. The summer where you met and parted ways with an ancient being.

Yes... It was just about a year ago now.

？！

？！

I see.

Then I will end this now.

Yes... I think I will try starting over from the Age of Gods then.

Huh!?

That's...way bigger than I was thinking.

Heroic Spirits of the observatory. Shadows of humanity.

Let this be your next place of gathering.

I will weave and bind all your wishes into one, and with it create a whole new worlda new Age of Gods, right here.

In this land of endless winter, I will create an eternal summer.

That WOULD be preferable to unending whiteness blanketing the world, no?

Then I shall warm the world with my flames.

I AM summer. I am the very flames themselves.

I am the mid-sky sun, warming the arctic and the summer waters.

Now dance.

Be merry.

Celebrate.

I will permit it. I will permit all.

Let summer delight you. Let summer drive you mad.

Live your life with a smile on your face...and die on a midsummer day.

？！

？！

...I see.

I will permit it! I will permit all!

Go on! Oppose me! Fight me and live! And if you can...defeat me!

Now! Finish her!

All together now...

Ame-no-Kagami-no-Fune! Lupus Strike Fang!

Ibuki-Douji's magical energy readings are dropping!

I couldn't measure them much before the battle began, but with her output this much lower...

...maybe she doesn't have the strength to keep fighting?

I wouldn't be too sure. We've been padding our numbers a pretty good amount, too.

So I'm getting the sense that this isn't over ye

Yes. Yes.

If I am to build a new world, it will require a great deal of blood, sweat, and tears...

...on both sides.

Ibuki-Douji's magical energy readings just spiked! It looks like

Dammit! I hate it when I'm right!

？！

Of course we'll be with you till the end. But first...why don't we hear what this new guest has to say?

New guest?

It is I!

My weakness created this Singularity, so it is only right that I should be here now too!

？！

No, there was simply no chance of me giving them the slip again.

Suffice to say, neither Nightingale, Asclepius, nor Paracelsus have much capacity for holding back...

Th-that bad?

Even I would have no hope of slipping through their security measures undetected. This is merely an illusion.

I used my own runes as well as Celtic Scáthach's runes to create what is essentially a clone.

I cannot fight in this form. The most I can do is talk.

In some ways, it is like a terminal meant specifically for dialogue.

So, since all I can do is talk...let us talk, my friend.

...So.

Ibuki-Douji. The true Queen of the Arctic.

I suppose, in a sense, it has been some time since last we spoke.

It seems you cheered me on while I worked on my manga, but I did not recognize you since we had never met in person.

...Hmm.

Very well. I will allow you anything as well.

Do you intend to resist? To fight?

All I want is to talk. You and I never did have a proper conversation.

Oh?

No, I am quite certain we did.

We spoke of how the world will disappear in a torrent of white.

That is why we both wished for the Holy Grail to give us an eternal summeran eternal paradise.

That's true. You're exactly right.

I entrusted my longing for eternity to your Holy Grail in the form of a wish.

And I gave shape to this Singularity you created, with help from many other Heroic Spirits.

... ...

Why do you waver? What is it you long for?

Long for what you wish. Desire whatever pleases you. Even with the possession of the Holy Grail, I am still the same god.

State your wish, and I will grant it.

...No. That's okay.

I already put my heart and soul into that manga.

Not, of course, my entire heart and soul...

...but it was enough to show me that I should not use a Singularity to make this dream come true.

And that is why I can tell you, truly, that I am satisfied.

O wild, yet kind god of a faraway land, true goddess of summer who gave me this paradise...

I have had enough. Let us put an end to this now. And...

Thank you.

...

I see.

So, you've had enough, huh?

How about you, Master?

？！

...Gotcha!

Your words have the ring of truth! Your wish is clear as a bell.

You have proven your strength.

So if that is what you desire, then that is what I will give you!

Th-the Holy Grail has appeared! And, it looks like...Ibuki-Douji's magical energy connection to it is gone?

Yup. You guys can have it.

I might not totally understand it, but I can tell you guys don't want this summer to keep going on any longer.

So I'm wrapping things up and giving you the Holy Grail.

Maybe I just got a little too excited last summer...?

Sorry!

...That's it!?

(Sigh...) Well, all's well that ends well, right?

'Sides, it's not like she's the first one here to get carried away.

Er, yes, well, I suppose I can think of a few examples of what you mean.

We've been monitoring the situation from here in the castle, and I can tell you that once a god makes up their mind, they don't stop for anything.

Take it from me. If it wasn't for Aphrodite, Athena, and Hera getting overly worked up, Paris wouldn't have inadvertently kicked off the Trojan War.

I swear, gods are nothing but trouble.

I may have gotten carried away, too... I'm sorry, everyone.

First with winter, now with summer, too... What a pathetic excuse for a queen I am.

Oh, who cares about a few goofs here and there!? Besides, by virtue of what we are, those of us in the position to rule do not make mistakes.

Or at least I don't! Keh heh heh!

I don't think my king would ever say anything like that, but if King Gilgamesh and King Iskandar were here...

...maybe they'd agree?

(Sniff)

C'mon, don't be so hard on yourself. Everyone makes mistakes, right? Gods are no exception.

(Plus, I can't help but sympathize after reading her manga. I mean, it was obviously about helping her work through some things.)

(Can't blame her for not wanting to see the world end twice. No wonder the prospect of eternity was so tempting for her.)

(Not that I can actually say any of that to HER!)

？！

Fujimaru...

Indeed, indeed.

Since it's clear she truly regrets her actions, I see no reason not to forgive her.

Bufooou!

Yooou!

Mmm? Yes?

Bahahahaha! You're one to talk!

？！

Yup, we're all A-OK over here! Man, you should've seen it, Chan-mas! The place was lit up with so many Noble Phantasms you'd think it was a fireworks festival!

That said...

You really don't ever learn, do you, Mambo-chan? Can't take my eyes off you for a second, can I?

Hmm? I assure you, I regret my actions most sincerely.

Why, behold the open, honest look in my eyes. Behold it!

Oh, yeah. He's definitely gonna try something again!

Hey, Kaorucchi. You don't have any other ways we can punish that handsome bastard of an onmyouji, do you?

There's the one I told Lady Kama about... Do you mean other than that one?

Eh, don't worry about it. Figured I'd at least ask. I'm sure you don't have a bunch of those just lying arou

I, um, I still have three others!

You do!?

Oh, no, you don't.

？！

？！

Mmm? What about me?

Great job, Senpai!

I'm getting things ready for your return, but I'm afraid it'll still be a little while yet.

I hope you don't mind waiting.

？！

Okay.

Um, Senpai? I just had a thought.

Is it just me...

...or were Ibuki-Douji, Skadi, and all the area managers...

...all doing what they did to make someone else happy?

？！

Oh good!

Fooou!

You think so too, Fou?

Fooou... Fou. Fou.

There you are. I know you're still young, but do be careful. Sunburn cares nothing for age.

A nice, enthusiastic response, but make sure you actually put on sunscreen too, all right? It's an absolute necessity in summer.

Oh, yes. About that...

？！

... ...

...So, look. I know we should head back to Novum Chaldea as soon as possible.

But, since we're already here, and Singularities like this don't come along every day, well...

I've decided you're free to do whatever you like with your time until the Singularity disappears!

？！

I recognize this may be odd coming from me, but Chaldea presently has little to offer in the way of employee benefits.

So now that we're reasonably sure it's safe here, I see no harm with in you take a little time for yourself.

I'll head back first. Someone has to handle your duties when you're away, after all.

So why don't you have Mash join you here in my place?

？！

Y-yes, I heard.

I'll be there as soon as I get my swimsuit!

Senpai, could I ask you to show me around?

？！

Hehehe. Ahh, youth! Now that's how it should be!

Fooou!

Shhh. Not so loud.

Let Mash and Fujimaru have their time together.

Fou?

...Yeah.

Sooner or later, summer has to end. And with it, all this fun.

You might be right. Everything ends eventually.

But, if nothing else...

...at least there's still a little time before this summer draws to a close.

So go on, young ones! Enjoy yourselves! Have all the fun you can for as long as you possibly can!

...

Fo fou fou? (Special Translation: Isn't that basically what Ibuki wanted?)

Hehe, yeah, it is.

And so what if it is? I don't want the fun to end any more than she does!

I honestly never cared whether an ending was happy, beautiful, or even meaningful. I've never, ever liked endings!