Section 6: Demonic Desire Banquet Expedition, Lost Jerusalem

...Are you awake now?

Get ready. The sixth imitation Singularity is nearly upon us.

We've got bacon and egg mushrooms... Wakame seaweed and mushroom miso soup...

Grilled mushroom with mushroom... And lots of mushroom mushroom mushroom cabbage mushroom.

Now that's a meal! All right, maggots, eat up!

Have you got anything other than mushrooms? You know what? Never mind. I don't even need to ask.

Settle down. We will be arriving at the sixth imitation Singularity soon.

？！

In the sixth imitation Singularity, the Knights of the Round Table never intervened.

Now, the one who rules the Holy City is the last Grand Master of the Knights Templar, Jacques de Molay.

Yes, the poor man. His name was baselessly slandered, his faith never rewarded.

Oh, I am impressed by your knowledge. Indeed, he was an unfortunate victim who was burned at the stake for heresy he never committed.

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The Knights Templar were an order of knights sworn to protect travelers making a pilgrimage to the Holy Land.

They had jurisdiction over all of Europe, and enough wealth to be their own nation-state. Little wonder they were envied so fiercely.

I can only imagine the Grand Master's chagrin at seeing everything he and his knights worked for be so completely destroyed.

Under his rule, the Sixth Singularity became quite the terrifying hellscape.

His means were no less impressive than the Lion King's Holy Selection. He paved the pilgrims' path with blood, piously praying all the while.

What is it? Something to say? Did you finally realize that I truly am the evil Beast I claim to

What do you mean? ...Ah, I see. Now I understand.

Later generations thought Emperor Nero was a man. I am also told the King of Knights hid her sex in life as well.

I imagine there must be many such Servants at Chaldea.

I can therefore understand your curiosity, but I can assure you, Jacques de Molay is indeed male.

What's more, I suspect he is also the sixth imitation Singularity's Floor Guardian.

That would seem to be all but a certainty. And this time, he will be wielding a holy sword with which to cut down a fell Beast.

He will, I am sure, do so with painfully pure prayers in his heart, all to atone for the sin of claiming the false Holy Grail.

And now, you and I are going to take that oh-so-earnest faith of his and trample it into the ground. Ahahahaha!

？！

Okay, everyone, we've arrived at the sixth imitation Singularity. Please check your belongings when you exit to make sure you don't leave anything behind.

Thank you again for flying with the Twilight Ladder.

Try to stay behind me if you can, Master.

Even setting the fiasco that was the Seventh Singularity aside, the other Chaldea had a rough time here.

If this place is anything like it was back then...we're in for a helluva fight.

Not only that, this time everything here's gonna be gunning for us. But hey, what warrior could ask for more?

Now that the Proof World is no longer under my control, these Singularities have become a field day for Beast hunting.

Our objective is clear. We must find and defeat the Floor Guardian to free the Incarnadine Demonic Beast.

Come, Master. The time has finally come to return to hell.

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Stay close to me, Master. We don't wanna lose sight of each other.

Blech, I got some in my mouth. Ick...blegh... So gritty!

Hey, Lady Nero! I think the wind's about to die down!

...There. I can finally see where we are.

...Wait. The hell?

...That's a lot of graves.

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Wha... Wh-wh-wha...!?

Sooo...this is gonna be another Seventh Singularity situation, isn't it?

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What do you mean, Halloween!?

...Elisabeth? I do not understand. She is just another Anti-Hero. What does she have to do with this?

...An upside-down pyramid? A Japanese castle? Slow down, dammit. You are not making any sense.

I know nothing about any of this. Nothing so bizarre as what you are describing happened in any of the other Chaldeas.

？！

Yikes, what happened at your Chaldea, anyway?

Hang on, Master. What's this weird-ass festival of yours doing here in the Sixth Singularity?

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So each Floor Guardian has the power to warp their Singularity, like we saw with the Seventh. It does make sense.

But I gather there is another reason for your certainty.

Looks like we'll have to pick this up later. We've got enemies.

It would seem we are not dealing with...pilgrim knights.

So...pumpkin knights, then?

They might look ridiculous, but they're clearly ready for a fight. Let's do this, Master.

I'm taking all their heads and replacing them with mushrooms!

Guess all we can do now is head down this road until we reach Lost Jerusalem...

But man, between this and what we saw in the Seventh Singularity, I gotta ask: Is this some kinda joke to you? You DO realize you're the final boss here, right?

This isn't my fault, 'kay!?

Well, now you don't even sound like you.

Come on, you weren't anything like this back when you fought that other Chaldea to the death.

(Man, this is really throwing me off.)

This just does not make sense. What is going on in this Proof World?

Fujimaru, you said you think Jacques de Molay is behind this, yes?

What makes you think so?

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Heh hehehe. Really, what choice did I have?

With a Spirit Origin like this, how could I NOT go full Innocent Monster?

Witches should curse the world in witchy ways, and demons should do so in...demony ways. That's just how it is.

The fate of humanity? Beasts? None of that matters to me.

Although, I have to wonder... Was I REALLY summoned to help with a matter concerning all of humanity? Sure doesn't feel like it.

Oh well, bon d'accord! This kind of thing suits me better than Holy Grail stuff, anyway, so I'm all for it.

Besides, an Incarnadine Demonic Beast? One of the Beasts from the Book of Revelation? What could be more fitting for a demon?

An Innocent Monster... I see. So this Jacques de Molay is a demon-worshipping witch.

This Halloween stuff sounds pretty ridiculous, but...isn't that kind of bad?

Indeed. Foreigners' very existence is like something out of a bad joke.

We cannot take them seriously, even were we to try. But it is also that very farcical nature which makes them dangerous.

So why was such a being summoned here? This only raises more questions...

Aaand there she goes, lost in thought again.

...

C'mon, Master, let's go. And don't push yourself too hard, okay? We've got a long road ahead of us.

Don't worry, Master! I've got just the thing for exhaustion! A bit of my special stash and you won't even know what tiredness is!

I'm starting to wonder if these things you're constantly pushing are even mushrooms at this point.

What do you mean? I'm just talking about vitamin B1! Don't put your crazy flights of fancy on me!

Oh, come on. Are you actually trying to pass for normal NOW!? No. No, you know what? Just forget it! Let's go!