Section 6: Land of Beauty and Peace

Hehe, how do you like them apples!? See what happens when you don't have that weird curse to fall back on!?

Hmm. So that's how they usually fight.

Not bad. Little wonder these soldiers couldn't even slow them down.

Hey! You! How long are you gonna stand there just taking in the show!?

Give Hibiki back already, dammit!

Aren't you just standing there, too!?

... ...

Master, have you noticed?

The soldiers Umisachihiko commands are identical to the ones we fought behind that other door.

Oh?

I see, I see. If you know about them, then you must have opened that door, too.

I'm guessing these are vengeful spirits. And not recently created ones at that.

I expect they're ancient, from a time so long ago it might even be hard to get your head around.

Ha, you really don't miss a beat, do you? You're exactly right.

These are the lamentations of the nameless soldiers who fought and died in an ancient war, brought to shrieking life.

If you like them, I'm very happy to let you keep fighting as many as you wish. After all

!!!

Hmph, damn Iwabune. He's just itching to go on a rampage. Well, I can hardly blame him.

He IS a living calamity...a monster composed of the grief, anger, hatred, and above all, grudges of the fallen countless years ago.

An amalgamation of grudges...!

You're saying this thing's entire bulk is made from countless souls burning for vengeance!?

Oh man. How many people's worth of vengeance is that? I don't even want to think about it.

So...you brought something like that here from beyond the door too!?

... ...

H-hey...there's an awful lot of them. Can we really take them all?

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For my part...

...I'd rather not employ quite so much raw force against you. My hope is that you will step aside peacefully.

Our enemy is the Edo shogunate and those who continue to harm people too weak to defend themselves.

Ooo.

？！

Dr. Bolbol, the big bad! You must be pretty cocky, showing up late to the party like this!

Be careful, Manager. He must have been scoping out the way we fight from the shadows!

I bet he's about to say something like, "Now our victory is guaranteed!"

Really!?

Well, yeah...doctors are pretty big-brained. But nobody can put numbers to our true potential!

... ...

(I think it might be for the best if I don't mention he was just changing Ine's diaper.)

Siebold...

You've already been banished from this country for the crime of attempting to bring detailed maps beyond its borders.

And yet here you stand, in spite of that sentence.

I'm guessing that's thanks to the Holy Grail.

...It is.

But what I don't understand is everything that came after.

After? We know what he did after. He made this Dragon Castle and took over Dejima!

Had you returned for your family, you could simply have taken them back to your homeland.

Here, you are a criminal. I can see no reason for you to remain at such great personal risk.

So what is it you're trying to do here?

... ...

... ...

Considering the internal strife within the shogunate, Shogun Ienari's troubles with the Satsuma domain, and the restrictions placed upon the Netherlands...

...I'm sure there must have been countless machinations at work behind the scenes of the Siebold Incident.

Many at court needed you to be a Dutch spy, regardless of what the truth may be.

They tortured not only you, but your associates...sometimes with fatal results.

... ...

Sakuza...

You were willing to do anything it took to prove your innocence and save your friends, even going so far as trying to change your nationality in spite of the subjugation this would entail. But it was all in vain.

In the end, you were exiled as a criminal, forced to leave your beloved wife and daughter behind.

Rage, grief, regret, despair... I can only imagine the emotional turmoil you must have experienced aboard that ship.

And if you found yourself needing a target for those feelings, I can imagine who it would be.

？！

So your real goal is to take revenge on the shogunate, Dr. Bolbol?

I mean, I do get the urge to hate someone for what they put you through

Wait, are you on his side!?

but that still doesn't make this okay!

C'mon, Doc! Do you really think Otaki would be happy with what you're doing!?

？！

？！

？！

I see... Otakusan...

I truly hoped to spare her such pain...

...but it seems life always has other plans.

Ah...

Aaaaaah!

What, what? What are you shouting about all of a sudden!?

I-I just remembered something I learned in history class!

I know you're banished right now, Siebold, but later, you'll get to come back to Japan!

Then you can live with your family again without having to wage war on anyone.

Just be patient for a while, and you'll be back here in no

...Thirty years.

Huh?

It was thirty years before I could return to Japan.

That is far more patience than should be asked of anyone just for a chance to see their family again, young lady.

？！

？！

... ...

What I'm about to tell you happens many years from now.

A Holy Grail suddenly appeared in Germany, where it sought someone fit to own it.

It chose a man on the brink of death.

What do you suppose that man's wish was as he lay dying, the Holy Grail in hand?

Are you...

...talking about yourself!?

Sea travel takes a long time.

The me of this time is, I am sure, aboard a ship heading back to the Netherlands even as we speak.

But my self thirty-seven years from now... He wished to return to Nagasaki on the day he was deported.

The Philipp Franz von Siebold you see before you now...

...is a Servant summoned by the Holy Grail.

A-are you serious?

You're not the real Dr. Bolbol? You're...a Servant?

That's a thing?

You're a Master while also being a Servant... That's right, such cases are not entirely unheard of!

I have my memories of the future. I have knowledge imparted from the Holy Grail.

And I know exactly...

...what kind of life Otaki and Ine led in the thirty years I was gone.

？！

I know the prejudices...the persecution...the outright violence Ine was forced to endure.

All because she was born a child of mixed heritage.

I won't let her go through that. She deserves a better future.

Googoo...

... ...

Mr. Siebold...

I love this country. I do. I love many of the people I've been fortunate enough to meet here.

But...the people of this land are also responsible for harming those I love.

So I'm going to use this Holy Grail to carve out a place where the powerless can live in peace.

It will be a beautiful land free of strife, where nothingnot race, gender or anything else...

...will tear people away from their loved ones, nor prevent them from living in peace.

And this Dragon Castlethis town of Nagasakiwill be the foundation of that new country!

Whoa, whoa! Hang on!

You want to build a whole new country, here? That's preposterous!

The shogunate won't just sit still for that! They'd send their armies to stop you!

Earlier, you asked me if my goal was to get revenge on the Edo shogunate.

Should this plan prove to be a threat to them...

...perhaps that will be my revenge.

And if they try to stop us by force...

...they will have me and my entire army to fight!

Heh... Hehe...

So, this country was built by his descendants. Fate truly works in mysterious ways...

Dudes! This is terrorism!

Did you really think we'd just stand by and let you do this!? We're gonna stop you both, right here, right now!

Fine. You are welcome to try. But first...

How long are you going to stand there? Isn't it time you went back to your friends?

Mr. Umisachi...do we really have to fight?

I don't know what Siebold is scheming, nor do I care what any of you have to say about it.

If you want to say something to a god like me...

...use what power you have to show me the strength of your convictions in battle.

You know, Mr. Umisachi...

...I don't think you're actually a bad god at all.

Oh, stop that.

I've never had any use for such tired labels. Gods are neither good nor bad. They simply are.

If you think you can make use of the pearls yourselves...then show me your mastery of Owadatsumi's power.

Chika!

Hibiki!

I'm so glad...you're okaaay!?

Yaaaaaaaaah!!!

Aaaaaah!

There, we transformed again! Let's go, Chika!

Let's show Mr. Umisachi how serious we are!

That's all you have to say!?

Do you have any idea how worried I was about you!? You could at least take a moment to be glad to see me again!

Huh?

You were worried about me? Ehehe, really?

I... N-no I wasn't. I wasn't worried one little bit.

？！

Who asked you?

Dammit, you all make me sound like some kind of monster...

Come, Tide-Ebbing Pearl. You're going to tell me what it is they have that I lac

Hm?

... ...

Umisachihiko, Divine Spirit. I have a question for you.

Hm, so you're...Isora, then? What a strange god you are, entrusting your body to a couple of girls.

Very well. What is it?

That giant turtle...

You called it Iwabune, yes? Are you the one who released it?

Oh?

Yes, I am. When I was summoned with the treasured pearls, I tried using them to open that gate.

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to do so...

...but in exchange, I did get that hideous pile of wrath crawling out of the rift.

I don't know why it was sealed in there, but now it obeys my every command.

Although, hehe...taming it was by no means easy.

...I see.

I wasn't at all interested in you before, but I've changed my mind.

You and I, we are enemies now.

Huh!?

I wonder what's up with Isora...

All right, you two! No more holding back!

Go kick his ass!

Wha... You're making us finish a fight that you started!?

What else can I do? I'm just a 3D projection! So yes, it's up to you two!

？！

I don't know what it is you're thinking, but I have no objections to those girls acting in your stead.

By all means, let us settle who is truly worthy to wield these pearls right here, right now.

Hehe... Be warned. I'm going to be a little rougher than I was on the surface.

Let us see how you handle the full force of the curse that eats away at me!

Gnnn!

What's going on? We can't fight it all off like we did before!

That's more than enough. Just keeping it in check is plenty.

Waver!

I'm feeling a little sluggish, but it's nothing I can't handle!

Here we go, girls! It's do-or-die! Like the god said: no holding back!

Y-yes, ma'am!

There may be a lot of foot soldiers, but that giant turtle can't reach us here. If we're going to settle this, we have to do it now!

It's time to go on the offensive, Master. Don't hold anything back!

？！

Tide-Flowing Pearl!!!

Gooooooooo!!!

Tide-Ebbing Pearl!!!

Craaap!

Those pearls are pretty much evenly matched! We'll never end the fight like this!

What's wrong? Finished already? Is that all you've got!?

Well, not me! I've got plenty more fight in me! Go on, don't hold back! Cast a spell! Poison me! Try whatever you can think of!

Throw everything you have into your vain attempt to bring me dow

Ghh...!

Mr. Umisachi!

Wait! I'm not...satisfied yet... I can't let things...end like this...!

What happened to him?

... ...

From what I can gather...

...Owadatsumi-no-Kami's curse from the Age of Gods is starting to slow him down.

Huh? But, he's been using that curse against us, like, this whole time.

How come it's only hurting him now?

He never actually overcame it. He's been wrestling with that curse as it ate away at him all this time.

In his haste to fight us, he must have made the curse more and more potent until it began to rebound upon him too.

Umisachihiko has long since reached the limits of his Spirit Origin.

Heh...

What a disappointing finish to this battle. Perhaps I'm destined to lose so pathetically.

But I did promise you the Tide-Ebbing Pearl should you defeat me.

So go on. Take it.

The Tide-Ebbing Pearl!

Thank you, Mr. Umisachi.

Are you all right? Are you still in pain?

Ugh, stop it. How peculiar. Whenever I talk with you, I find myself feeling strangely vexed.

At any rate... Forgive me, Master. I'm afraid I lost this battle.

Not at all, Umisachi. You fought well. I have nothing but gratitude for you.

Huh!?

Are you going to fight us yourself now, Siebold!?

No. I had to abuse the summoning system to materialize this way...and it has proved a fleeting incarnation. I am not strong enough a Servant to fight you.

It seems this is as far as I go. Victory is yours.

Daa...

...Forgive me, Ine.

I wish I could have given you the happy future you deserve.

？！

Ine did face a lot of persecution in her life thanks to her mixed heritage...

...but she also went on to become an accomplished physician. In fact, she became the first woman in Japanese history to study and practice Western medicine.

I can't imagine her whole life was happy, but...

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Yes...

Yes, I'm sure you're right. I want to believe you're right.

Ine was always a strong girl, never backing down in the face of the struggles life threw at her...

Please, take this. I don't need it any longer.

I hope you can use it to make your own future brighter.

The Holy Grail...

I've been waiting for you to let that go, Siebold.

I'll be taking that.

You may be finished, but I still have something I must do!

？！

!!!

!!!

D-did he just order the giant turtle to crash into the castle!?

I guess he doesn't care WHAT happens anymore! I'm disappointed in you, Sacchi!

Oh, hell! The whole place is flooding, and fast! We need to get out of here!

Come, Iwabune! Give me your wrath! Give me your fury!

Did that turtle just...absorb him!?

No.

Quite the reverse! This titanic mass of resentment has become an extension of my own body!

And that's not all!

Huh!?

No!

The...

Th-th-the turtle just ATE them!

？！

Haha... Hahahahaha!

At last! I finally have the Holy Grail, both treasured pearls...

...and someone who can open the gate!!!