Section 10: My Wish Is To Pierce That Heart Myself

Well, we made it to D.C.

That was way easier than I thought it'd be.

I expected far more in the way of enemy resistance. Could this be a trap?

It's probably that, or there's something else going on here they didn't expect.

But that's war, right? It never goes exactly how you want.

Still, be careful. I think I'd rather face an army of a million on my own than the brute who's still out there.

What happened here...?

？！

Is it genocide? Did these people do a genocide?

...I knew it.

It's Scáthach.

Hm? Oh, you're here.

...Hey there, Mentor.

It's me, Sétanta. I guess...I should say "long time no see"?

Haha, what a strange thing to say. You were already known as Cú Chulainn by the time you came to train with me.

Hey, you're the one who kept calling me "Sétanta."

...Only this time, I really am Sétanta. I haven't yet reached the point where I can go by Cú Chulainn.

Admirable. I would invite you to spar with me, given how long it has been...

...but I see you're with the Beast, so I'll just have to kill you.

Is she a secret Berserker or something!?

？！

I keep telling you all, I never joined the Beast's side.

I'm just here to protect Master.

It's the same thing, you fool.

We cannot permit either the immature Beast or its contracted Master to live. Death is the only option.

...

Listen to me, Mentor. This guy's dealing with something way worse than the Disappearance of Humanity.

I still don't entirely get it, but I do get that the fate of all of Proper Human History depends on him.

If his Chaldea messes this up, all of human history will vanish just like that.

Other Heroic Spirits may not get that, but I'm sure you of all people do. Don't you?

What, is that all?

None of that matters.

What!? Why you...

Huh? Come on, Mentor. What are you say

I should be asking you that.

Yes, Proper Human History losing a battle for its existence and the Bleached Earth Phenomenon are grave matters.

？！

But so what?

...Are you serious, Mentor?

That trial is meant for the Beast's contracted Master and all who live in his world to overcome.

It is not a burden Heroic Spiritsmere walking dreams of the dead, are meant to bear.

Now that I have been summoned to this Spiral Proof World, I am simply a means with which to end Beast VI's life.

What happens beyond that is none of my concern. That is what it is to be a Servant.

...

Besides, Sétanta.

What does it matter if the world ends? It would hardly be the first time.

...Now I gotcha. Really went all in on this Servant thing, huh, Scáthach?

I mean, normally, that just wouldn't be possible.

You're definitely Scáthach. But you're also not.

You're no more than a shadow, just like the ones on the bottom floor.

The same is true of you, my fool of a student.

Remember, all the passion, fervor, and bloodlust you feel now is merely a projection twisted by the lens of time.

Forget that, and you WILL go down the wrong path. The dreams of a dead man have no right to spoil the living's dreams.

...

...

...(Siiighhh...)

？！

Sorry, Granny, but I don't got any idea what you're talking about! I'm still just a kid, after all!

"That is what it is to be a Servant"!? You're sayin' it's not our business to care about what happens after our job is done!?

Then why did we Heroic Spirits surpass the laws of nature and create an actual freaking miracle...

...just so we could come together to help that Master!?

Sétanta...

If being a Heroic Spirit means being beholden to such cold, heartless logic, then I'll never be cut out to be a hero!

...I'm genuinely shocked. No mean feat, but you've done it all the same.

The unbelievable childishness. The immaturity. I can hardly imagine the Hound of Culann barking so ineptly at the world.

You still have a long way to go before you are fully kneaded in the ways of the Celts, Sétanta.

Uh... Kneaded?

Gotcha. So that's Celtic Scáthach, huh?

How dare you lump us in with that lot, dammit!

？！

Still...

...those same qualities are what make you who you are.

You said it. Not the worst bit of barking I have heard from you.

And you, Queen of the Land of Shadows, are not wrong, either.

I have tasted the world's end many times before. Delicious though it may be, it is also...pedestrian. Common.

So you really are our enemy.

That does not, however, mean I will stand for you insulting a dish I choose to have served at my table.

I never asked for your culinary critique, nor do I care how many stars you would give my meal.

Enough of your bluster. I know how tired you have grown of this facade.

...What are you trying to say?

You and I have a lot in common. Very much like me...

...you, too, ■■■■ ■■ ■■■.

...!

？！

...

But since you have come all this way, I will be a good host and allow you to dine on my spear instead.

...You may try.

But that is surely not only your spear, anyway. Where is the Floor Guardian?

Yeah. Where's the Alter me? The one as crazy as a mad sea.

Oh... Him? He's been right there this whole time.

Wha...!?

Lady Nero! Look!

The Incarnadine Demonic Beast!? When did that get here!?

It's about time for him to return to life.

？！

...

...Cú Chulainn. But why?

Why do I sense my Incarnadine Demonic Beast from you?

...It broke its seal.

... ...

It what?

We mustered all our forces to fight it. But as long as Beast VI lives, so too do its incarnadines.

It swallowed Cú Chulainn...

...but he used his power as a Floor Guardian to seal it away within himself.

So I have been killing him over and over to ensure it doesn't regain its power.

But no more. Can you hear me, Mad King?

It's time to end this once and for all.

...Yeah. I know, Mentor.

Whether I kill you, or you kill me...this ends here and now.

So we'll fight to the death, until no trace of the loser remains.

He's right, Lady Nero. He's giving off the same scent as you.

So that's my other self, and

And the Incarnadine Demonic Beast, Invidia.

Come, Sétanta. Your trial begins now.

Prove to me you can overcome your own shadow with unpolished techniques and an incomplete soul!

...You bet I will!

I am not the Hound of Culann, so I shall not kill you with my spear!

I've still got a lot of growing to do, so I will use every ounce of my strength to destroy my enemies!

Your heart...is mine!

...Looks like this is it.

See you later, Scáthach. I'm going on ahead.

Lady Nero! Do you have the incarnadine!?

I do. Invidia has made its way back to me.

Victory is ours.

This isn't over yet!

？！

You...got...thaaaaaat...right!

Sétantaaa!

...Hmm. Interesting.

I could see myself dying at Cú Chulainn's hands, but I never thought you would be the one to end me, Sétanta.

Who cares about my future self? My future belongs to me and me alone.

Which is why, one day, I'll kill the real you too.

...

...I see.

...

It's over, Master.

？！

You know, Master, being a Servant is freakin' weird.

I know I'm a younger version of Cú Chulainn.

I know how he lived and how he met his end.

I didn't even use this sword much until later in my life.

But, even with all that knowledge, I still don't know or understand much of anything.

I mean, this me hasn't really even accomplished anything, right?

...So you would speak of future dreams, despite being a long dead dream yourself?

Yup. I don't think of myself as a dead guy at all.

I mean, come on. There's no way a guy like me would get himself killed by... What's her name again? Medb?

...Hmph.

The ladder's here.

Luxuria, Ira, and Invidia. That makes three Incarnadine Demonic Beasts we have reclaimed.

Now, four remain: Gula, Acedia, Superbia, and Avaritia.

So we're almost halfway there. I guess this means things are going well? All the brushes with death aside, anyway.

Yes. However...

(How could an Incarnadine Demonic Beast break its own seal?)

(And then there was what happened with the Sixth Singularity... What is going on with the incarnadines?)

(Are they undergoing a change unbeknownst to)

Lady Nero?

No... It is nothing. Come, get in the ladder. We must leave for the next floor.

？！

London.

The city of death shrouded in Demonic Fog.