Section 3: Follow the Course of the Endless Sky

Here you are, Lady Nero! My famous Locusta mushroom cuisine!

Good work.

？！

Oh, come now. It is not as if poison affects you.

Besides, mushrooms are the food of the gods. You must be grateful as you eatthat is, weep tears of joy at having been accorded such a high honor.

Any friend, or Master, of Lady Nero's is a friend of mine!

So please, don't be shy! Go on! Dig in!

Mushrooms are great, you know. No other healthy food like them. They're low in calories and rich in vitamins, minerals, and fiber.

And what's more, thanks to their various...properties, they even help you achieve enlightenment and reach a higher state of consciousness.

Oh wow, the colors are backlit and dancing... I can feel the universe embracing me as I become part of something greater...

？！

Master, you're totally welcome here because you're friends, pals, buddies, brosephs with Lady Nero...

...but what do you think YOU'RE doing here, you little shit!?

...

？！

Took everything I had to hold on. Made for pretty good training, actually.

Besides, I said I wasn't gonna let the Beast get away. Not to mention keeping you safe's part of my job, Master.

Lady Nero, you wouldn't mind me just tossing this vermin out the nearest window, would you?

Shut up, shroom witch.

You think I've got mushrooms for you, mutt? Go get some dog food if you're hungry!

...What did you just call me!?

？！

Stop it. Can you not see I am eating?

I'm so glad you like it, Lady Nero! If you're still hungry, there's more where that came from!

For someone about to bite it, you're pretty relaxed, Beast VI.

(Munch, munch...) Sétanta, right? If you truly wish to save Master, the only way you can do so is by helping me.

You're still on about that?

Now, now, hear me out. That goes for you too, Fujimaru.

As you know, Fujimaru and I are currently bound by a contract.

As long as that contract exists, the Heroic Spirits gathered in this Proof World will never stop going after him.

However, Fujimaru...I can break our contract, if you like.

？！

You can? Well, c'mon! Make with the contract breaking, then!

Did I not just say to hear me out? Do not make me repeat myself again. It gives me a headache.

You see, our particular contract is somewhat unusual. If anything, it is more like a curse that binds us both.

So I cannot break the contract of my volition alone. At least, not as I am now.

...And just what does THAT mean?

As a Beast, I could use Independent Manifestation, the ability that enables Beasts to appear in the world entirely on their own.

With that Authority, I could make our contract null and void. Not a bad deal, right?

？！

Indeed. I would need to regain my full Beast powers.

Then we're right back where we started!

Absurd. Unlike before, you now have a clear goal. What greater progress could you hope to make?

Once I reawaken as Sodom's Beast, there will no longer be anything binding us together.

At that point, we need only settle matters between us. Besides, I always intended to devour you.

Then why the hell would we go along with that?

Master, just say the word, and I can get started right now.

Not as long as I'm around.

？！

So what, you're just gonna roll over and do what the Beast says? A Beast you have absolutely NO reason to trust?

？！

？！

...

(...Something's not adding up. Even when she was fighting us, she was still protecting Master.)

(I guess that makes sense, since she needs his magical energy...)

(I dunno, though... Something about it seemed like she was acting like a proper Servant...)

(Sigh...)

You are just so incredibly trusting, whether of a Heroic Spirit or an Anti-Hero. Reminds me of my Master back home.

Especially the way you both take crazy, unnecessary risks.

All right, you win. I'll come along too, Master.

I might be from another Chaldea, but right now, I'm basically your Servant. So, y'know, you can give me orders and all that.

？！

So...are we done talking now?

Good. Then let's fight.

Huh!? Where'd that come from!?

I still haven't even properly introduced myself.

Sooo, I decided I'm running a last-minute trial quest!

Did you not hear a word we just said!?

You'll be the enemy, 'kay?

Are you freakin' nuts!? Did we not JUST become allies!?

Not in here. Go outside.

Come on, Master! I'm gonna show you how I fight! Er...how I cook!

I can't believe this witch actually threw me into a cauldron full of poison. Ugh, I'm still dizzy...

？！

Kinda wishing you'd stopped her!

？！

Now then, my name is Locusta, and I'm an Assassin! Back when I was alive, I used to serve Nero as a poison maker!

？！

Does that not fit with the Nero Claudius you know? Believe it or not, it is the truth. Courts and conspiracies do go hand in hand.

Indeed, I had countless numbers of political rivals assassinated.

An emperor's life may seem peaceful, but in truth, it is positively dripping with blood and poison.

Locusta here served me very well in that regard. I can think of none better suited to represent the poisoner.

Eee! I can't believe she praised me... You're far too kind, Lady Nero!

Anyway, as long as you're Lady Nero's Master, I'll be glad to serve you faithfully, too!

So what's with the mushroom fixation?

Oh, that? It is because I am fond of them. Mushrooms are the food of the gods, after all.

Although, it seems my stepfatherthat is, my predecessor, Emperor Claudius, did not care for them. Hehe.

Hee hee hee...

"Didn't care for 'em," you say... Man, I hate this mustache-twirling, Machiavellian crap...

Well, never mind that. How 'bout we talk about our next move instead?

You said you wanna get back to your true Beast body, right? How exactly are you planning to do that?

That is the purpose of this journey, yes.

We are going to traverse this Spiral Proof Worldthat is, the seven imitation Singularities layered in a spiral pattern, and reclaim my Incarnadine Demonic Beasts from them.

Incarnadine Demonic Beasts? But haven't you been commanding those in battle?

？！

The Incarnadine Demonic Beasts I use presently are no more than empty shells.

My true Incarnadine Demonic Beasts were sealed within the seven imitation Singularities after I abducted you.

I am Sodom's Beast, the seven-headed, ten-horned creature described in the Book of Revelation. The Incarnadine Demonic Beasts are my own heads.

So, if I am to once more become Sodom's Beast, I must first free my Incarnadine Demonic Beasts from captivity.

？！

The Heroic Spirits summoned here to hunt me, of course. And I do not mean the sort of empty shadows we have been seeing thus far.

Those protecting the Incarnadine Demonic Beasts' seals are genuine Servants who rule each floor of this spiralthat is, their respective imitation Singularities.

Yes... Perhaps we should call them "Floor Guardians."

So you want us to beat these Servants up and free your Incarnadine Demonic Beasts, huh? I really don't like this plan...but I'm not seeing much choice.

The ladder is currently taking us towards the seventh imitation Singularity.

So for you, Fujimaru, this will mean traveling between the seven Singularities in reverse order.

？！

The seventh imitation Singularity is not like the one you know. For one thing, the Servants would never give other Beasts a chance to manifest in them.

No, the seventh imitation Singularity is the Golden City of Babylon, a marvel of a civilization that reached heights of grandeur unattainable in human history.

So its Floor Guardian must be the king of BabylonNebuchadnezzar II.

Yes, the king of Babylon during 7th century B.C. This means he would not ordinarily exist in the Seventh Singularity, which took place in 27th century B.C.

So you are somewhat familiar with him. Indeed, he ruled over Babylon around 7th century B.C.

This means he would not ordinarily exist in the Seventh Singularity, which took place in 27th century B.C.

？！

As such, Nebuchadnezzar II's soul has been transplanted into a clone of Gilgamesh, the King of Heroes.

That is the true identity of Nebuchadnezzar II, the super Babylonian Urukian.

He is also the husband of Monster Queen Dracothat is, myself.

Part of my production, of course, since I cultivated the Babylon Singularity myself.

Well, it was something of a sham marriage, as I cultivated the Seventh Singularity myself.

？！

At any rate, thanks to Nebuchadnezzar II, Babylon grew into a golden city whose desires knew no bounds.

You should look forward to it, for this city is a fruit truly worthy of a place on my dining table.

I daresay you will get few other chances to witness a city flourishing at its zenitha pinnacle of artistry the like of which has only been seen five times in all of human history.

Indeed. What manner of metropolis could better suit Sodom's Beast, the City Eater?

You mean one of those Lostbelts? What a joke. You cannot even compare them.

A city built by the gods, hm? I see... I am sure it was beautiful, especially with a goddess like Venus overseeing its construction.

But no matter what heights of glory it achieved, it was still no more than the gods' toya divine attempt at playing house.

It is the desires of those humans inhabiting a city which shape its true essence.

A city without desireswithout a soulis as hollow as an empty cave.

？！

Indeed. What manner of metropolis could better suit Sodom's Beast, the City Eater?

？！

At any rate, if Nebuchadnezzar II is to stand in our way, I wonder what he will think upon seeing me again?

Hateful resentment at having his body and soul toyed with? Chagrin at his failure to become a god?

Or, unlikely as it seems, perhaps he will burn with the same righteous indignation as any other Heroic Spirit?

Any of these will be fine with me. Seeing how far he has fallen should be amusing, if nothing else.

...The ladder stopped.

I think we're here, Lady Nero!

Now, go and see for yourselves. See this hellish imitation Singularity and the Floor Guardian awaiting us.

Only by defeating him and freeing the Incarnadine Demonic Beast sealed away here will we be able to advance to the next floo

What the...

What is going on here!?