Epilogue I: Party Clean-up

...No one had bad intentions. Each of them was thinking only of others, hm?

(Sigh) Well, that is certainly a lovely story, isn't it?

However.

This place? A paradise?

Each area seems far too individualistic, noisy, and lacking in cohesion to qualify as a paradise.

???

Well yeah, of course.

That's always the case with human societies. They've always been noisy and incohesive.

But that's the very thing which makes them so precious.

I guess you'd never see it that way though, hm? Not as you are now, at any rate.

That's your whole problem right there, Douman.

Kanra kara kara! I hope you're ready, because I'm not about to let you off the hook as easily as Fujimaru did!

Yan Qing

Hahaha. Looks like I won't have to do anything about you after all.

Mmmmmm. No, thank you.

I'm here, too.

I could call Kotarou and Danzo as well, but they probably wouldn't be satisfied with anything short of your death, so...

So the three of us are going to give you a well-deserved dose of tough love! Hehehe!

Love? Love is not a part of my treatment program.

Whoa, whoa, whoa. Now, everyone, just hold on, please. What terrible crime have I committed?

Do you truly believe I had any choice as to whether or not to obey a Divine Spirit with a Holy Grail at her command?

And a divine spirit of Ibuki Daimyojin at that? You are aware she's one of the heads of Yamata-no-Orochi, one of Japan's three greatest monsters ever?

A humble monk onmyouji like myself could never dare.

Kanra kara kara! As if you think of gods and Elementals as anything other than food.

No, I'm quite certain you had your own reasons for obeying her. And that can only mean there is more to this than meets the eye.

...Though, I cannot claim to have been aware of that from the start.

Paracelsus

May I have a word, Asclepius?

Scáthach-Skadi's condition is getting worse. Her magical energy loss hasn't slowed down at all.

If anything, it's only getting worse, though only slightly, with every area seal that's broken.

...Odd. Even under the circumstances, she shouldn't be losing THIS much magical energy.

Paracelsus

It almost seems intentional. Like something, or someone, is getting more anxious with each broken seal, and so absorbing more magical energy from her in response.

... ...

It seems intentional, hm...

We were told that each area's using as much magical energy as its manager likes. I wonder if that's true?

What do you make of this Singularity, Paracelsus?

Paracelsus

I'd say it's about the same as most summer Singularities, though it is on the flashier side.

I agree. Which means a single Holy Grail should be enough for its magical energy needs.

Perhaps it is a matter of sheer scale, given the size of the Arctic Circle?

Paracelsus

I don't think so. The Arctic Circle as a whole may be big, but the various areas interspersed throughout the Singularity aren't exceptionally spacious.

You're correct about that as well. That's why Master's been forced to navigate between them in that ship.

All right, what if we hypothesize that her magical energy loss isn't caused by the various areas?

Paracelsus

Do you think there's something or someone intentionally taking it from her?

Or could it be...the Arctic Circle itself?

Mm, mmmmmm...

Yan Qing

Hey, Douman. You realize you've gone back to all "m"s and no "n"s?