Maybe that is the way to stop Satella
Drow her in chibi Subaru until she stop
-
Going forward, links to content from Twitter (now X) will no longer be embedded. Pre-existing links should not be affected.
Save Scumming? It's on my Character sheet. (Re: Zero/Fate Grand Order)
- Thread starter Xorn
- Start date
- Crossover
Drow her in chibi Subaru until she stop
TheLastOne
Person of impeccable tastes (for destruction)
But why would it bother her. She can save HER Subaru, again, and again, and again, and againandagainandAGAINANDAGAINANDAGAINAN...
What could be more romantic!
Mizu
Software Developer
- Location
- Victoria, Australia
This made me chuckle, heh. Quite the apt comparison for how Subaru inherits Authority.
What's this about dragon blood? Hasn't been mentioned in the story yet, I don't think?
Teiwaz
Beloved of Adorjan.
- Location
- RUNNING AWAY
Spoilers for what will probably be season 3 if it gets one but..
The Archbishiop of Lust who justs happens to be a run away of the Lungica(please ignore my stupid attempt at humor) Royal Family at one point in the arc turns into a massive black dragon and starts poisoning people with her blood but Susu-tan is immune to the poison for SOME REASON chooses to take it into him self and as a result one of his arms and legs are no longer human
starmag99
Pluto-chan <3
- Location
- Kuiper belt
That... sounds like Kirei and his Arnold's Mayonnaise heart.
Neruz
Rogue Spiderbanana
- Location
- The Land of Fire and Poison
By the standards of incomprehensible eldritch abominations, that is pretty romantic.
26: Stars. Cosmos.
Xorn
Master Procrastinator
- Location
- Somewhere I won't be able to rest in peace
26: Stars. Cosmos.
Night in Antarctica is long. Multiple months long, in fact - from April to August, the sun will not rise. Of course, Chaldea has an illusory bounded field around it set to mimic the day and night cycle of Britain, since living without sunlight for months causes negative effects on the human psyche.
Father's workshop, however, is excluded from the field. Further up the mountain, only accessible by a stairway tunneled into the slope, his observatory has been perfectly positioned to take advantage of the long Antarctic night. Paired with a mystic code placed near the North Pole, the Observatory's telescope is capable of being used at any hour for eight months of the year. (The remaining months, of course, we are forced to deal with the same troubles that the Clock Tower astrologers do, as both poles have normal day/night cycles for part of the year.)
At any rate, since the observatory is usable at any hour, I can use it at times when I'm certain that certain members of the staff are asleep. That's right, since I can dodge his presence, I can avoid feeling crowded out by the other person to whom Father gave a workshop key.
It's about the space, you see. That's all. Even though the dome-shaped room has a twenty meter diameter, even though there are no fewer than four telescopes in the place, I just can't comfortably do my research while he's there. The Animusphere workshop, massive though it is, simply can't fit the both of us.
Because, Kirschtaria Wodime is simply too big.
And so, as I sneak, in the middle of the night like a thief, into my Father's workshop, my heart sinks and my blood runs cold when I open the door. Because, even though he should be asleep, the person I least want to see in this room is working diligently at Father's desk.
Tall, wearing all white, with long flowing blond hair - father's foremost disciple, the leader of Chaldea's A-team, the pride and joy of Clock Tower's astrology department. Kirschtaria Wodime. A mage without peer.
Father's desk is just a bit too tall for me to work at. All of his chairs are too big for me. Even the telescopes, are just a little too high for me to reach without a stool.
And yet, here he is. A man who ought to have had nothing to do with our family, sitting comfortably in that chair, scribbling down some notes. At some point, as I watch him through the cracked door, he stands up and glances through one of the telescopes.
"One for each, then? ...I don't even know what to make of something like this." He says with a sigh. "I should probably sleep on it, in all honesty. Tomorrow's sky should make things a bit more clear."
And then, he makes his way towards the door, where I've been hiding! What do I do!? I could hide, but this is Kirschtaria! He'll find me for sure, and then I'll die of embarrassment! I could run, but he has longer legs, so he'll catch up for sure! So, the only option is… to open the door myself!
"Oh, Kirschtaria. What are you doing up this late?" I say with faked surprise.
"Ah, Director. Sorry for my intrusion." He says with a small bow, and I feel something nasty bubble up in my chest. "I was looking at the file for the new master candidate, and had something I wanted to check."
I can feel my face slip into a slight scowl. "The new master candidate… that's number forty-eight, right?"
"Natsuki Subaru, yes. I was intrigued by his name and ridiculously high master affinity." He replies.
"Subaru… that's the Japanese name for the Pleiades, isn't it?" I mutter. "So you decided to check the stars. Did you find anything interesting?"
"Certainly. Betelgeuse, Regulus, and several other stars are shining unusually bright tonight. What's more, I went ahead and ran a few tests on the provided blood sample… He has a dual origin. 'Star and Spirit'." My father's disciple says, a small smirk gracing his face. If I didn't know better, I'd say he's getting excited. "Director… My intuition is screaming at me. This person is without a doubt, someone important."
"Kirschtaria... " I mutter, eye twitching. "You said that about over half of the master candidates, you know?"
"Well, they're all my important colleagues, after all…" He says, eyes flicking away from me.
"Yes, yes, useful tools and all that." I say, impatience edging into my voice. "But as for candidate forty-eight, it seems you missed the information regarding his magic circuits."
"Severe ruptures that make it impossible for him to expel mana from his circuits, resulting in contamination of the soul over time, and an inability to use magecraft - something on that level isn't that big of a problem." Wodime says, just like the superhuman monster he is. He's three times the mage I am. Ten times more accomplished than anyone else in our age group. Of course he would think that such a thing is simple
He hasn't yet realized that no one else is insane enough to hold themselves to his standards.
"In cases like that, siphoning mana from the circuits using a mystic code or a familiar is a simple enough matter. In fact, if you consider his need to constantly expel mana in tandem with everything else… doesn't it seem like there's something out there, desperately working to ensure that Natsuki becomes a Master?" He continues
"Leaving aside how on earth you're so informed about ruptured circuits… are you saying that you suspect the Counter Force is involved?" I ask.
"...Perhaps. But my thinking was more along the lines of 'the stars certainly seem to love this boy, don't they?'" He replies, and I nod thoughtfully. "As for your non-question about my knowledge, I hadn't realized that your Father didn't tell you. My apologies."
Again, something unpleasant bubbles up in my chest. "Didn't tell me what, Wodime?"
His words hit me like a brick wall. "...My own magic circuits have been ruptured in a similar manner since I was fourteen years old."
...
"...But, most of your accomplishments… have been in the past ten years." I stammer, eye twitching. "And you achieved all of it, with your circuits like that!?"
"That is correct. Like I said, it's not particularly difficult once you get the hang of it." He says dismissively.
Kirschtaria Wodime… is simply too big.
***
Of course, in the end I dismissed Wodime's insight on the subject of Natsuki Subaru. It was only natural to do so - the man was competent, but he had a consistent tendency to overestimate the capabilities of other people. Kirschtaria Wodime lived his life as if unaware of the fact that not everyone could become a titan like him.
And so, when I learned that Natsuki Subaru was the only master who made it to Singularity F, I was absolutely certain that we were doomed. I would be blamed for the disaster, and with nothing to show for our rayshifting efforts aside from over a hundred dead staff members, we'd lose UN funding, and Chaldea would cease to exist.
And then, the next morning, Romani reported their progress.
Natsuki hadn't found any gems in the Tohsaka residence - rather, he found a Noble Phantasm. And it got more ridiculous from there. A demon-possessed Servant - freed from the possession and contracted. Mordred Pendragon, the third or fourth most famous Knight of the Round - contracted and supplied with mana without any visible strain. Heracles, the greatest hero of Greece - defeated without a single injury.
"So don't worry, Director! I'll definitely save Lev. That's a promise." - he said something absurd like that, like it was nothing. Like Demonic Possession wasn't one of the most dangerous, most irreversible things in the world.
Yet, somehow… some small part of me believed him. All signs pointed to it being impossible. Everything I knew about Demons said that exorcism became impossible when the will was completely subsumed. I knew. I knew that the only part of me that actually believed him was the fragile, emotional part of me that couldn't survive without Lev Lainur to look after me.
And then Natsuki actually pulled it off.
"See you guys in a bit!"
As I watch Lev and the others dematerialize, I finally allow myself to calm down. It's over. The Demon is gone. We may have lost a significant number of staff, but we were successful nonetheless. The other master candidates may have been stuck in cryostasis, but they're still alive, and once we get reinforcements from outside-
"Shit! Why now?" A staff member yells. "Director, we just lost Natsuki's signal!"
"What!? Find him! After all the effort he put in for our sake, we can't leave him out to dry!" I yell.
"I'm trying! But with these readings… was he pulled into a Reality Marble!?"
"The [Alien Common Sense] of Demons… So Flauros wasn't dead yet!?" Someone else shouts.
Dammit! This can't be happening!
"The Singularity's collapse is accelerating!" Shouts a man behind me. "Timeline stabilization in fifteen seconds!"
"Da Vinci! Come to the command room - and bring the [Paper Moon]!" I shout into the intercom. "Natsuki will be dumped into Void Space when the singularity resolves; we'll need that thing to have any chance of finding him! Sylvia, what about the rest?"
"All other signals holding relatively stable - though Cu Chulainn's is slowly declining!"
"That's to be expected… Romani, how are their vitals?" I turn to see the normally carefree man gritting his teeth.
"Timeline stabilization in ten seconds!"
"Confirming minor fracture in Cu Chulainn's Spirit Origin, along with the complete absence of his right arm! Mordred and Mash are all green… Lev Lainur has trace amounts of the [Sixth Imaginary Factor] in his system, but they're steadily decreasing! His mind and body are intact… crap! I'm not getting any reading for his soul!" The Doctor shrieks.
"No… soul..?" I mutter, ice surging through my veins.
"Timeline stabilization in five…!"
"Summon procedure beginning. Diverting all nonessential power to [LAPLACE]!" Another woman yells, and the lights cut out as golden dust begins to float through the air.
"Four…Three…!"
Lit only by the pale light of computer monitors and the fiery glow of Chaldeas, a man in a green suit slowly materializes in his usual spot on the command deck.
"Lev!" I yell as tears fill my eyes, and I embrace the only person in the world that I know for certain I can trust. "Lev, please… tell me you're alright! As long as you're okay, then-!"
"Two…One...!"
Lev collapses against me, and I can't hope to hold him up. He falls to his knees, chin on my shoulder.
"...Olga." He rasps, next to my ear. I mutely nod. Tears begin to burn at my eyes. "Flauros… still alive. Reborn. Endless… rebirth."
"...Chaldeas is still on fire! Even though the singularity is resolved-!"
"Humanity… incinerated. Seven… singularities." Lev mutters, and my breathing begins to quicken as the panic attack starts to set in.
"Confirming- everyone except Natsuki Subaru has safely arrived at Chaldea!" I hear someone yell, miles away.
Lev pulls back, and gives his usual close-eyed smile. "Sorry for the… inconvenience."
And with that, he slumps to the ground, and my world falls to pieces.
***
Lev looks perfectly peaceful as he slumbers, a faint smile on his face. His chest rises and falls, with nothing visibly wrong with him. However…
That's just on the surface. In truth, Lev Lainur's soul is completely absent - his ability to speak before seems to have just been the 'lingering will' of his body, and with that last remnant of his existence expended, he should be dead. The trauma caused by the soul leaving the body is almost invariably fatal.
And yet, here he is, the picture of serenity, without a single sign of pain. So, with that in mind, perhaps…
The door to Lev's room opens.
"Yo, Director. I finally got cleared to leave my hospital bed, so I decided to swing by." Says Natsuki Subaru.
"What for?" I snap, despite myself.
"...I came to apologize." He says, grimacing. "I said that I would do my best to save Lev, but…"
I sigh. "You don't need to feel guilty. I was being hysterical, so a quick, comforting lie was necessary to get me to work in my proper capacity."
"No, I wasn't intending to lie." He replies. "I really did want to follow through on that promise. So… I'm sorry for my failure."
...It's an absurd apology. To begin with, the mere fact that Lev wasn't killed outright is a miracle. When it comes to exorcisms of mature demons, I've only heard of a single modern case where the possessed person survived. Of course, as a no-name from the far east, it's not like Natsuki would have the context for how ridiculous his apology sounds.
But still...
"Are you stupid?" I end up blurting out. "You may not know a thing about Daemons, but surely you realize just how ridiculously powerful Flauros was! In the first place, the fact that it was expelled from Lev, and that you all made it back to Chaldea safely, are miracles! You have to at least know that much!"
"Of course it was hard. It was an uphill battle all the way! I was scared, and stressed out, and desperately trying my hardest to keep everyone alive! But, seeing him end up like this… leaves a really bad taste in my mouth." His teeth grind as he clenches his hands tightly. "I know I'm being unreasonable. I know that. But, is it so wrong, to want things to end happily? I'm so sick of these damn surprise downer endings!"
"You just didn't realize it at the time, Natsuki. This wasn't a surprise. From the start, a result like this was... inevitable." I say as my eyes start stinging.
"But he needed the grail to use that weird tentacle form of his! If I was just a little smarter, I could have stopped him from setting off the bombs, and we could have just captured him… I'm sure, if I hadn't used that method to drive out Flauros, then Lev would still be-!" He protests, and my teeth start grinding together.
"No one else is insane enough to hold themselves to Kirschtaria Wodime's standards."
-I was wrong. I was completely wrong, when I thought that.
"...Natsuki. Please stop saying things that will make me hate you." I finally mutter.
"...Sorry." He says, looking down. "...I'll leave you alone for now."
He exits the room, closing the door behind him - leaving me alone, at the bedside of the most important person in my world. A person that I know... will never wake up.
Night in Antarctica is long. Multiple months long, in fact - from April to August, the sun will not rise. Of course, Chaldea has an illusory bounded field around it set to mimic the day and night cycle of Britain, since living without sunlight for months causes negative effects on the human psyche.
Father's workshop, however, is excluded from the field. Further up the mountain, only accessible by a stairway tunneled into the slope, his observatory has been perfectly positioned to take advantage of the long Antarctic night. Paired with a mystic code placed near the North Pole, the Observatory's telescope is capable of being used at any hour for eight months of the year. (The remaining months, of course, we are forced to deal with the same troubles that the Clock Tower astrologers do, as both poles have normal day/night cycles for part of the year.)
At any rate, since the observatory is usable at any hour, I can use it at times when I'm certain that certain members of the staff are asleep. That's right, since I can dodge his presence, I can avoid feeling crowded out by the other person to whom Father gave a workshop key.
It's about the space, you see. That's all. Even though the dome-shaped room has a twenty meter diameter, even though there are no fewer than four telescopes in the place, I just can't comfortably do my research while he's there. The Animusphere workshop, massive though it is, simply can't fit the both of us.
Because, Kirschtaria Wodime is simply too big.
And so, as I sneak, in the middle of the night like a thief, into my Father's workshop, my heart sinks and my blood runs cold when I open the door. Because, even though he should be asleep, the person I least want to see in this room is working diligently at Father's desk.
Tall, wearing all white, with long flowing blond hair - father's foremost disciple, the leader of Chaldea's A-team, the pride and joy of Clock Tower's astrology department. Kirschtaria Wodime. A mage without peer.
Father's desk is just a bit too tall for me to work at. All of his chairs are too big for me. Even the telescopes, are just a little too high for me to reach without a stool.
And yet, here he is. A man who ought to have had nothing to do with our family, sitting comfortably in that chair, scribbling down some notes. At some point, as I watch him through the cracked door, he stands up and glances through one of the telescopes.
"One for each, then? ...I don't even know what to make of something like this." He says with a sigh. "I should probably sleep on it, in all honesty. Tomorrow's sky should make things a bit more clear."
And then, he makes his way towards the door, where I've been hiding! What do I do!? I could hide, but this is Kirschtaria! He'll find me for sure, and then I'll die of embarrassment! I could run, but he has longer legs, so he'll catch up for sure! So, the only option is… to open the door myself!
"Oh, Kirschtaria. What are you doing up this late?" I say with faked surprise.
"Ah, Director. Sorry for my intrusion." He says with a small bow, and I feel something nasty bubble up in my chest. "I was looking at the file for the new master candidate, and had something I wanted to check."
I can feel my face slip into a slight scowl. "The new master candidate… that's number forty-eight, right?"
"Natsuki Subaru, yes. I was intrigued by his name and ridiculously high master affinity." He replies.
"Subaru… that's the Japanese name for the Pleiades, isn't it?" I mutter. "So you decided to check the stars. Did you find anything interesting?"
"Certainly. Betelgeuse, Regulus, and several other stars are shining unusually bright tonight. What's more, I went ahead and ran a few tests on the provided blood sample… He has a dual origin. 'Star and Spirit'." My father's disciple says, a small smirk gracing his face. If I didn't know better, I'd say he's getting excited. "Director… My intuition is screaming at me. This person is without a doubt, someone important."
"Kirschtaria... " I mutter, eye twitching. "You said that about over half of the master candidates, you know?"
"Well, they're all my important colleagues, after all…" He says, eyes flicking away from me.
"Yes, yes, useful tools and all that." I say, impatience edging into my voice. "But as for candidate forty-eight, it seems you missed the information regarding his magic circuits."
"Severe ruptures that make it impossible for him to expel mana from his circuits, resulting in contamination of the soul over time, and an inability to use magecraft - something on that level isn't that big of a problem." Wodime says, just like the superhuman monster he is. He's three times the mage I am. Ten times more accomplished than anyone else in our age group. Of course he would think that such a thing is simple
He hasn't yet realized that no one else is insane enough to hold themselves to his standards.
"In cases like that, siphoning mana from the circuits using a mystic code or a familiar is a simple enough matter. In fact, if you consider his need to constantly expel mana in tandem with everything else… doesn't it seem like there's something out there, desperately working to ensure that Natsuki becomes a Master?" He continues
"Leaving aside how on earth you're so informed about ruptured circuits… are you saying that you suspect the Counter Force is involved?" I ask.
"...Perhaps. But my thinking was more along the lines of 'the stars certainly seem to love this boy, don't they?'" He replies, and I nod thoughtfully. "As for your non-question about my knowledge, I hadn't realized that your Father didn't tell you. My apologies."
Again, something unpleasant bubbles up in my chest. "Didn't tell me what, Wodime?"
His words hit me like a brick wall. "...My own magic circuits have been ruptured in a similar manner since I was fourteen years old."
...
"...But, most of your accomplishments… have been in the past ten years." I stammer, eye twitching. "And you achieved all of it, with your circuits like that!?"
"That is correct. Like I said, it's not particularly difficult once you get the hang of it." He says dismissively.
Kirschtaria Wodime… is simply too big.
***
Of course, in the end I dismissed Wodime's insight on the subject of Natsuki Subaru. It was only natural to do so - the man was competent, but he had a consistent tendency to overestimate the capabilities of other people. Kirschtaria Wodime lived his life as if unaware of the fact that not everyone could become a titan like him.
And so, when I learned that Natsuki Subaru was the only master who made it to Singularity F, I was absolutely certain that we were doomed. I would be blamed for the disaster, and with nothing to show for our rayshifting efforts aside from over a hundred dead staff members, we'd lose UN funding, and Chaldea would cease to exist.
And then, the next morning, Romani reported their progress.
Natsuki hadn't found any gems in the Tohsaka residence - rather, he found a Noble Phantasm. And it got more ridiculous from there. A demon-possessed Servant - freed from the possession and contracted. Mordred Pendragon, the third or fourth most famous Knight of the Round - contracted and supplied with mana without any visible strain. Heracles, the greatest hero of Greece - defeated without a single injury.
"So don't worry, Director! I'll definitely save Lev. That's a promise." - he said something absurd like that, like it was nothing. Like Demonic Possession wasn't one of the most dangerous, most irreversible things in the world.
Yet, somehow… some small part of me believed him. All signs pointed to it being impossible. Everything I knew about Demons said that exorcism became impossible when the will was completely subsumed. I knew. I knew that the only part of me that actually believed him was the fragile, emotional part of me that couldn't survive without Lev Lainur to look after me.
And then Natsuki actually pulled it off.
"See you guys in a bit!"
As I watch Lev and the others dematerialize, I finally allow myself to calm down. It's over. The Demon is gone. We may have lost a significant number of staff, but we were successful nonetheless. The other master candidates may have been stuck in cryostasis, but they're still alive, and once we get reinforcements from outside-
"Shit! Why now?" A staff member yells. "Director, we just lost Natsuki's signal!"
"What!? Find him! After all the effort he put in for our sake, we can't leave him out to dry!" I yell.
"I'm trying! But with these readings… was he pulled into a Reality Marble!?"
"The [Alien Common Sense] of Demons… So Flauros wasn't dead yet!?" Someone else shouts.
Dammit! This can't be happening!
"The Singularity's collapse is accelerating!" Shouts a man behind me. "Timeline stabilization in fifteen seconds!"
"Da Vinci! Come to the command room - and bring the [Paper Moon]!" I shout into the intercom. "Natsuki will be dumped into Void Space when the singularity resolves; we'll need that thing to have any chance of finding him! Sylvia, what about the rest?"
"All other signals holding relatively stable - though Cu Chulainn's is slowly declining!"
"That's to be expected… Romani, how are their vitals?" I turn to see the normally carefree man gritting his teeth.
"Timeline stabilization in ten seconds!"
"Confirming minor fracture in Cu Chulainn's Spirit Origin, along with the complete absence of his right arm! Mordred and Mash are all green… Lev Lainur has trace amounts of the [Sixth Imaginary Factor] in his system, but they're steadily decreasing! His mind and body are intact… crap! I'm not getting any reading for his soul!" The Doctor shrieks.
"No… soul..?" I mutter, ice surging through my veins.
"Timeline stabilization in five…!"
"Summon procedure beginning. Diverting all nonessential power to [LAPLACE]!" Another woman yells, and the lights cut out as golden dust begins to float through the air.
"Four…Three…!"
Lit only by the pale light of computer monitors and the fiery glow of Chaldeas, a man in a green suit slowly materializes in his usual spot on the command deck.
"Lev!" I yell as tears fill my eyes, and I embrace the only person in the world that I know for certain I can trust. "Lev, please… tell me you're alright! As long as you're okay, then-!"
"Two…One...!"
Lev collapses against me, and I can't hope to hold him up. He falls to his knees, chin on my shoulder.
"...Olga." He rasps, next to my ear. I mutely nod. Tears begin to burn at my eyes. "Flauros… still alive. Reborn. Endless… rebirth."
"...Chaldeas is still on fire! Even though the singularity is resolved-!"
"Humanity… incinerated. Seven… singularities." Lev mutters, and my breathing begins to quicken as the panic attack starts to set in.
"Confirming- everyone except Natsuki Subaru has safely arrived at Chaldea!" I hear someone yell, miles away.
Lev pulls back, and gives his usual close-eyed smile. "Sorry for the… inconvenience."
And with that, he slumps to the ground, and my world falls to pieces.
***
Lev looks perfectly peaceful as he slumbers, a faint smile on his face. His chest rises and falls, with nothing visibly wrong with him. However…
That's just on the surface. In truth, Lev Lainur's soul is completely absent - his ability to speak before seems to have just been the 'lingering will' of his body, and with that last remnant of his existence expended, he should be dead. The trauma caused by the soul leaving the body is almost invariably fatal.
And yet, here he is, the picture of serenity, without a single sign of pain. So, with that in mind, perhaps…
The door to Lev's room opens.
"Yo, Director. I finally got cleared to leave my hospital bed, so I decided to swing by." Says Natsuki Subaru.
"What for?" I snap, despite myself.
"...I came to apologize." He says, grimacing. "I said that I would do my best to save Lev, but…"
I sigh. "You don't need to feel guilty. I was being hysterical, so a quick, comforting lie was necessary to get me to work in my proper capacity."
"No, I wasn't intending to lie." He replies. "I really did want to follow through on that promise. So… I'm sorry for my failure."
...It's an absurd apology. To begin with, the mere fact that Lev wasn't killed outright is a miracle. When it comes to exorcisms of mature demons, I've only heard of a single modern case where the possessed person survived. Of course, as a no-name from the far east, it's not like Natsuki would have the context for how ridiculous his apology sounds.
But still...
"Are you stupid?" I end up blurting out. "You may not know a thing about Daemons, but surely you realize just how ridiculously powerful Flauros was! In the first place, the fact that it was expelled from Lev, and that you all made it back to Chaldea safely, are miracles! You have to at least know that much!"
"Of course it was hard. It was an uphill battle all the way! I was scared, and stressed out, and desperately trying my hardest to keep everyone alive! But, seeing him end up like this… leaves a really bad taste in my mouth." His teeth grind as he clenches his hands tightly. "I know I'm being unreasonable. I know that. But, is it so wrong, to want things to end happily? I'm so sick of these damn surprise downer endings!"
"You just didn't realize it at the time, Natsuki. This wasn't a surprise. From the start, a result like this was... inevitable." I say as my eyes start stinging.
"But he needed the grail to use that weird tentacle form of his! If I was just a little smarter, I could have stopped him from setting off the bombs, and we could have just captured him… I'm sure, if I hadn't used that method to drive out Flauros, then Lev would still be-!" He protests, and my teeth start grinding together.
"No one else is insane enough to hold themselves to Kirschtaria Wodime's standards."
-I was wrong. I was completely wrong, when I thought that.
"...Natsuki. Please stop saying things that will make me hate you." I finally mutter.
"...Sorry." He says, looking down. "...I'll leave you alone for now."
He exits the room, closing the door behind him - leaving me alone, at the bedside of the most important person in my world. A person that I know... will never wake up.
Sorry this is late.
Olga chapter this time. Some elaboration on Lev's condition, as well as a brief appearance by Wodime.
Next chapter Wednesday, hopefully.
Olga chapter this time. Some elaboration on Lev's condition, as well as a brief appearance by Wodime.
Next chapter Wednesday, hopefully.
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TheLastOne
Person of impeccable tastes (for destruction)
He canonically has broken circuits, so he presumably has them for the same reason as in canon.
Teiwaz
Beloved of Adorjan.
- Location
- RUNNING AWAY
Subaru's gate rupturing was entirely his own fault for trying to force a win in a desperate mind breaking situation.
It was on the mend and he would have been able to recover and start to learn Yin Sorcery proper if not for the events of the Sanctuary of Kremaldy.
It was on the mend and he would have been able to recover and start to learn Yin Sorcery proper if not for the events of the Sanctuary of Kremaldy.
- Location
- Brazil
Always good to see more Olga, nasuverse is a world full of monsters so a "regular person" like her is incredible relatable and popular despite have been killed in the prologue four years ago.
Neruz
Rogue Spiderbanana
- Location
- The Land of Fire and Poison
His dad tried to assassinate him, the assassin failed but damaged Wodime's circuits in the process of doing so.
Wodime said 'so wut?' and went on to become a genius magus anyway, because who needs functional magic circuits to become a magus?
Not Kirschtaria Wodime.
Parabola
Divided Loyalties Librarian
- Location
- The Destination of Fate
- Pronouns
- She/Her
I don't actually know that much about Grand Order properly, but it's fascinating to see Olga in the same position Subaru was in relation to, well... Rem-as-sleeping-beauty. I imagine he wanted to say something on the matter, but couldn't.
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27: Try to know what you’re talking about.
Xorn
Master Procrastinator
- Location
- Somewhere I won't be able to rest in peace
27: Try to know what you're talking about.
"...Idiot." I mutter to myself, slumping against the wall outside Lev's room. "What the hell were you thinking, Natsuki Subaru? That if you just apologized for your screwups, everything would be fixed?"
It won't be that easy. Saying sorry won't return Lev Lainur's soul to his body, or undo the explosions of the bombs I failed to stop. The latter is impossible to fix at this point. With the exception of Natsuki Subaru, the dead don't come back to life, and [Return by Death] only ever returns me to the most recent 'save point'. And as for the former...
It goes without saying, using the Witch's taboo like that was a mistake. After all, it's not in her nature to be gentle when tearing apart those who learn about [Return by Death]. In all likelihood she tore out Lev's soul at the same time that she removed Flauros, without bothering to distinguish between the two.
And of course… knowing this power of mine works, I won't be able to return far enough back to make a difference now.
No, that's not quite right. The truth is, if I had really wanted to save Lev, I'd have made sure that he was alright the moment Flauros was gone. There was already clearly something wrong with him at that point. But I pushed it aside, because I was selfish.
"Because… I still don't want to die, huh?" I mumble, scratching at my arm and beginning my slow walk back to my room. That's right, even though I've died more than fifty times at this point, I'm still hesitant to-
"Oi, just what the hell am I thinking?" I realize.
I've already been down this mental road and been scolded for it before. It's not wrong to survive. It's not wrong to want to live. It's not wrong to be afraid of dying.
...Where was I?
Right, a way to fix the damage to Lev…
"His soul is missing… but what does that even mean?" I mutter, trying to think back to my brief stay at the Clock Tower. The nature of the soul, what exactly a soul is, was certainly covered. However, I didn't have the chance to attend that lecture.
"Right, that was the day Von Krudik kidnapped me, wasn't it?" I mutter. And while the guy who rescued me did try to explain the concept to me afterwards…
"Well, it's like a dance between 'that' and you, you know?"
...Flat Escardos was terrible at explaining things. Even after he spent several hours telling me about it, I still couldn't wrap my head around his explanation. I had meant to ask the Professor for help, but a few days after that fiasco I finally got my chance to meet with Zelretch, so it never wound up happening.
So… if it's come to this, I'll use my secret special move-!
***
"I'm completely clueless, so please explain it to me." I say with a polite bow.
Doctor Roman sighs. "...The Soul, huh? Well, that's a pretty complicated question, since there are so many schools of thought on it… Chaldea uses the threefold existence model, which posits an independent [Body], [Mind], and [Soul]."
"...So, it's something as extreme as having the body completely destroyed? How is Lev even still alive, then?" I ask.
"...Well, in theory, you actually have to eliminate at least two of the three in order to actually kill someone. Of course, it's not like the body, mind, and soul are wholly divorced from one another. Under normal circumstances, just losing one would cause cascading trauma that kills the other two." Roman says. "If I had to guess… odds are that it's because of what Flauros talked about. That the Lainur family was created for the exact purpose of hosting him. If that's the case, then it explains how he could be possessed without experiencing the usual bodily and mental corruption that demonic possession entails."
"Eh… so there are usually pretty clear signs, huh?"
"Sort of. The real bodily changes don't usually kick in until the demon is fully matured, from what I've been told." He says. "But once the demon's matured, it's way too late to save the possessed person. For that reason… those who can detect demons are highly prized by the church." He locks eyes with me.
"Hey, it was just a fluke this time, okay? A fluke!" I say, sweating a bit under his stare. "Don't go selling me to the church or something!" I already know that won't end well, after all. The life I spent dealing with those guys was a disaster through and through.
He chuckles. "Anyway, the fact of the matter is, we got incredibly lucky with Lev. As a general rule, surviving a full demonic possession is impossible. Supposedly there's a man in the [Burial Agency] who can actually exorcise fully matured demons, but even then, it's unknown what happened to the person he saved."
"I'm sure they're fine… is what I'd like to say, but since the one to do it was one of those weirdos, there's seriously no guarantee!" I yell.
"Wait, Subaru-kun, are you actually familiar with-?"
"Nope. I've definitely never met any of them before. I'm just inferring based on their reputation, yep." I say with a forced smile.
"R-right… in any case, Lev's chances of recovery aren't zero, but we can't do anything with the equipment we have here at Chaldea. And, well…" He says, trailing off with a sad look.
"Yeah. Humanity has been incinerated, after all." I mutter.
Things weren't fixed when the Fuyuki Singularity was resolved. [Apocalypse Conflagration] was not prevented. At the present moment, every human being outside of Chaldea is no more than cinders. And unless we resolve all seven of the extra singularities that popped up in the wake of the first's collapse, they'll remain that way.
"Well, it's not like we had any choice in the first place. We'll just have to save the world, right?" I say with a chuckle.
The doctor lets out a laugh of his own. "I guess so! Nowhere to go but up, right?"
"Exactly!" I reply, grinning. "On that note, I know I'm clear to move around, but how soon will I actually be able to exert myself physically? I've got to get back into shape if I'm going to be scrambling around another seven Fuyuki-level disaster areas, you know!"
"Hmm…" He closes his eyes and nods, stroking his chin. "Well, according to Cu Chulainn, you should already be healthy apart from the blood loss - and since modern medicine has that part covered, you're technically good to go. Still, considering the wounds you sustained, I'd really like to supervise your rehabilitation. As long as I'm there to keep an eye on you, it's probably fine!"
"Great! That means you get to be my first… no, actually, you're my fourth victim!" I say with a thumbs up.
"Mhm, that's… Wait, what's this about me being a victim!?" He yells. "Subaru-kun, don't just laugh menacingly! You need to explain at least a little!"
For a brief moment, his reaction reminds me of a certain grey-haired merchant. Quickly, I turn my face away from Roman, and blink to control the stinging in my eyes. Am I replacing my friend? Is that what's happening right now?
For a couple seconds, guilt eats away at me - and then I realize how stupid I'm being. I'm not replacing my friend. I'm just making another friend. I'm allowed to have more than one friend, even if they are surprisingly similar in how they respond to my jokes. In fact, having friends who are similar to each other is good, since that means they'll get along well with one another.
Right. Right. This is fine. Besides, Otto's probably whining to himself right now about how he misses playing the straight man to my jokes. Right, it's decided, I'll mess with him twice as hard to make up for lost time when we reunite.
But for now, I need to keep in practice.
"Muahahaha! You already agreed to be there, after all! Everything is going according to plan!" I laugh.
"Wait, three prior victims… Mash, Cu Chulainn, and Mordred… No, I refuse! Anything but thaaaat!" Roman yells, scrambling away.
"Heh heh heh… Too late, Doctor! No one escapes… Radio Calisthenics!"
"...Idiot." I mutter to myself, slumping against the wall outside Lev's room. "What the hell were you thinking, Natsuki Subaru? That if you just apologized for your screwups, everything would be fixed?"
It won't be that easy. Saying sorry won't return Lev Lainur's soul to his body, or undo the explosions of the bombs I failed to stop. The latter is impossible to fix at this point. With the exception of Natsuki Subaru, the dead don't come back to life, and [Return by Death] only ever returns me to the most recent 'save point'. And as for the former...
It goes without saying, using the Witch's taboo like that was a mistake. After all, it's not in her nature to be gentle when tearing apart those who learn about [Return by Death]. In all likelihood she tore out Lev's soul at the same time that she removed Flauros, without bothering to distinguish between the two.
And of course… knowing this power of mine works, I won't be able to return far enough back to make a difference now.
No, that's not quite right. The truth is, if I had really wanted to save Lev, I'd have made sure that he was alright the moment Flauros was gone. There was already clearly something wrong with him at that point. But I pushed it aside, because I was selfish.
"Because… I still don't want to die, huh?" I mumble, scratching at my arm and beginning my slow walk back to my room. That's right, even though I've died more than fifty times at this point, I'm still hesitant to-
"Oi, just what the hell am I thinking?" I realize.
I've already been down this mental road and been scolded for it before. It's not wrong to survive. It's not wrong to want to live. It's not wrong to be afraid of dying.
...Where was I?
Right, a way to fix the damage to Lev…
"His soul is missing… but what does that even mean?" I mutter, trying to think back to my brief stay at the Clock Tower. The nature of the soul, what exactly a soul is, was certainly covered. However, I didn't have the chance to attend that lecture.
"Right, that was the day Von Krudik kidnapped me, wasn't it?" I mutter. And while the guy who rescued me did try to explain the concept to me afterwards…
"Well, it's like a dance between 'that' and you, you know?"
...Flat Escardos was terrible at explaining things. Even after he spent several hours telling me about it, I still couldn't wrap my head around his explanation. I had meant to ask the Professor for help, but a few days after that fiasco I finally got my chance to meet with Zelretch, so it never wound up happening.
So… if it's come to this, I'll use my secret special move-!
***
"I'm completely clueless, so please explain it to me." I say with a polite bow.
Doctor Roman sighs. "...The Soul, huh? Well, that's a pretty complicated question, since there are so many schools of thought on it… Chaldea uses the threefold existence model, which posits an independent [Body], [Mind], and [Soul]."
"...So, it's something as extreme as having the body completely destroyed? How is Lev even still alive, then?" I ask.
"...Well, in theory, you actually have to eliminate at least two of the three in order to actually kill someone. Of course, it's not like the body, mind, and soul are wholly divorced from one another. Under normal circumstances, just losing one would cause cascading trauma that kills the other two." Roman says. "If I had to guess… odds are that it's because of what Flauros talked about. That the Lainur family was created for the exact purpose of hosting him. If that's the case, then it explains how he could be possessed without experiencing the usual bodily and mental corruption that demonic possession entails."
"Eh… so there are usually pretty clear signs, huh?"
"Sort of. The real bodily changes don't usually kick in until the demon is fully matured, from what I've been told." He says. "But once the demon's matured, it's way too late to save the possessed person. For that reason… those who can detect demons are highly prized by the church." He locks eyes with me.
"Hey, it was just a fluke this time, okay? A fluke!" I say, sweating a bit under his stare. "Don't go selling me to the church or something!" I already know that won't end well, after all. The life I spent dealing with those guys was a disaster through and through.
He chuckles. "Anyway, the fact of the matter is, we got incredibly lucky with Lev. As a general rule, surviving a full demonic possession is impossible. Supposedly there's a man in the [Burial Agency] who can actually exorcise fully matured demons, but even then, it's unknown what happened to the person he saved."
"I'm sure they're fine… is what I'd like to say, but since the one to do it was one of those weirdos, there's seriously no guarantee!" I yell.
"Wait, Subaru-kun, are you actually familiar with-?"
"Nope. I've definitely never met any of them before. I'm just inferring based on their reputation, yep." I say with a forced smile.
"R-right… in any case, Lev's chances of recovery aren't zero, but we can't do anything with the equipment we have here at Chaldea. And, well…" He says, trailing off with a sad look.
"Yeah. Humanity has been incinerated, after all." I mutter.
Things weren't fixed when the Fuyuki Singularity was resolved. [Apocalypse Conflagration] was not prevented. At the present moment, every human being outside of Chaldea is no more than cinders. And unless we resolve all seven of the extra singularities that popped up in the wake of the first's collapse, they'll remain that way.
"Well, it's not like we had any choice in the first place. We'll just have to save the world, right?" I say with a chuckle.
The doctor lets out a laugh of his own. "I guess so! Nowhere to go but up, right?"
"Exactly!" I reply, grinning. "On that note, I know I'm clear to move around, but how soon will I actually be able to exert myself physically? I've got to get back into shape if I'm going to be scrambling around another seven Fuyuki-level disaster areas, you know!"
"Hmm…" He closes his eyes and nods, stroking his chin. "Well, according to Cu Chulainn, you should already be healthy apart from the blood loss - and since modern medicine has that part covered, you're technically good to go. Still, considering the wounds you sustained, I'd really like to supervise your rehabilitation. As long as I'm there to keep an eye on you, it's probably fine!"
"Great! That means you get to be my first… no, actually, you're my fourth victim!" I say with a thumbs up.
"Mhm, that's… Wait, what's this about me being a victim!?" He yells. "Subaru-kun, don't just laugh menacingly! You need to explain at least a little!"
For a brief moment, his reaction reminds me of a certain grey-haired merchant. Quickly, I turn my face away from Roman, and blink to control the stinging in my eyes. Am I replacing my friend? Is that what's happening right now?
For a couple seconds, guilt eats away at me - and then I realize how stupid I'm being. I'm not replacing my friend. I'm just making another friend. I'm allowed to have more than one friend, even if they are surprisingly similar in how they respond to my jokes. In fact, having friends who are similar to each other is good, since that means they'll get along well with one another.
Right. Right. This is fine. Besides, Otto's probably whining to himself right now about how he misses playing the straight man to my jokes. Right, it's decided, I'll mess with him twice as hard to make up for lost time when we reunite.
But for now, I need to keep in practice.
"Muahahaha! You already agreed to be there, after all! Everything is going according to plan!" I laugh.
"Wait, three prior victims… Mash, Cu Chulainn, and Mordred… No, I refuse! Anything but thaaaat!" Roman yells, scrambling away.
"Heh heh heh… Too late, Doctor! No one escapes… Radio Calisthenics!"
Incidentally, I wanted Da Vinci to be the one to explain the soul stuff, but then I realized Subaru's a bit more likely to go to the Medical Doctor he already knows to learn about the medical condition of Lev. I'm kind of glad with how it turned out, though.
Luckily, friendship is not an exclusive relationship. Also, Subaru is on good terms with Flat, which is also my way of saying "I just binge-read Strange Fake, in preparation for _____'s appearance in Orleans, and ______'s appearance in Okeanos."
Anyway, sorry this was a bit late. Next chapter Mondayish.
Luckily, friendship is not an exclusive relationship. Also, Subaru is on good terms with Flat, which is also my way of saying "I just binge-read Strange Fake, in preparation for _____'s appearance in Orleans, and ______'s appearance in Okeanos."
Anyway, sorry this was a bit late. Next chapter Mondayish.
big oof to all radio calisthenics fans in the world.
Quest
The Great One
- Location
- Everywhere
It feels like he's activating his Stand.
28: A Knight’s Sword.
Xorn
Master Procrastinator
- Location
- Somewhere I won't be able to rest in peace
28: A Knight's Sword.
As I exit the infirmary, I run into an unexpected face. An athletic woman in a T-shirt and jeans, with blonde hair tied up in a ponytail - on her way back from the simulator, judging from the sweat on her face.
"Yo, Mordred! Did you finish bullying Mash already?" I ask the knight.
"Oi, I'm gonna need to object to your word choice there." She deadpans. "People will get the wrong idea."
"...Well I can see that." I reply, tapping my chin. "Then, did you finish stealing Mash's lunch money already?"
"Don't just double down on it!" She yells. "It's just training, dammit, training! It's natural that it's one-sided for now, since she's got to adapt that guy's fighting style to her smaller body!"
"Hm… if you say so." I mutter in faux concern. "Still, if I catch you sending her to the lunchroom to buy you food, I'm telling the teacher."
"Just what type of person do you think I am!?"
"Huh? A delinquent, obviously." I say without hesitation. "I bet you rode a motorcycle to school and hid on the rooftop to smoke cigarettes."
"No way! Those things are gross! I'm never smoking ever again!" She protests.
"Wait, so you've actually done it!?" I laugh.
"S-shut up!"
***
"So you were on your way to pick up your new sword?" I ask as we walk through the deserted hallway. "Da Vinci sure works fast, huh? I'm glad we've got someone reliable handling this stuff."
Considering we only got back four days ago, I'm sure it's gotta be an absurd feat, even if the [Mystic Code] she's creating will never measure up to [Clarent].
"Hey, don't go calling her reliable to her face. That woman's already got an ego and personality about as twisted as that flower bastard's." Mordred sighs.
"Flower bastard…?" I ask. If that's some old enemy of hers, I don't think I've heard-
"Merlin." She says. "I mean, they aren't rotten in quite the same ways, but it's annoying nonetheless."
"Eehh…" I groan. "So he's got a gross personality too, huh? I guess I should have been able to guess that by this point."
"Hm?" She raises an eyebrow.
"I met three or four renowned magic-users in the other world, and they were all perverts, scumbags, or perverted scumbags." I explain.
"Oh, if those are the categories, then it's easy - Da Vinci, Mother, Merlin." The knight says.
"Tch, so they're both perverts, huh? So, which kind? Exhibitionist perverts? Creepy clown perverts? 'Tee-hee, that drink was actually my bodily fluids' perverts?" I ask with a shudder.
"Merlin was half-incubus, so he couldn't feel emotion without leeching it from others… so he went around, telling innocent people things like 'unfortunately, your father will never love you', and 'don't worry, I'm sure someone will love you one day', and even 'I've fallen in love with you just now, would you marry me?' - just to laugh and take those emotions for his own later use!" She shouts, tears in her eyes.
Somehow, the image of a laughing man with slicked-back blue hair and a white and black mask appears in my mind. But I'm pretty sure that I've never met anyone like that, right?
"Eh, Master, you're looking a bit pale there…" Mordred comments.
"Roswaal is the teacher… the giant hamster wants to eat me… the little girl is a salaryman..." I mutter massaging my temples. "Ugh, my head…"
"Master, you're going cross-eyed, so stop thinking about strange things, okay!?"
***
Da Vinci's workshop is a mixed up place, full of all kinds of objects that really shouldn't be sharing a space - as befits the world-famous [Renaissance Man], who lived a ridiculous multi-faceted life as an artist, scientist, inventor, and mage. The shelves are filled with books, models, telescopes, strange magic items, blueprints… From the ceiling, several model flying contraptions hang, and spread across the room's multiple tables are various manuscripts, paintings, and diagrams.
...Well, that being said, it's all still several orders of magnitude more organized than Roswaal's office, so my butler's pride can let this one go.
"Well, if it isn't our mysterious alien man of mystery!" Says a beautiful dark-haired woman. "And Mordred as well - welcome to Da Vinci-chan's wonderful workshop!"
"Wait, do I actually seem that suspicious!?" I complain. "Also, despite my time in another world, I'm still originally from Earth, you know! Do you consider Neil Armstrong an alien!?"
Da Vinci smirks. "Well, depending on what the data that the Magi in the US have kept to themselves says, the answer might not be what you'd expect. But let's move past that for now, okay?"
"No, you definitely just said something unbelievable that I don't want to let slide…" I mutter.
"In any case, I suppose you've both come along to pick up my newest masterpiece?" She says, breezing past my flimsy protest and leading us over to a hastily constructed forge in one of the corners of the room. Once there, she picks up a two-handed sword in a silver-red scabbard, and unsheathes it to display a gleaming silver blade patterned with lines of blue crystal. "Ta-da! Da Vinci-chan's brand new [Azoth Longsword]! Let me tell you, reworking Para-kun's magnum opus into something that could be used in actual melee without breaking was no mean feat! But here it is - it's no [Clarent], but it should be able to repurpose and amplify your Mana Bursts in a similar enough manner for you to imitate what you did with that sword."
Mordred picks it up with some apprehension, giving it a few experimental swings - and then a smile splits her face and she lets out a gleeful shout. "Woah, what the hell!? This thing's actually amazing! I was expecting it to be all clumsy, 'cause you're not a swordsman, but it's almost as easy to use as Clarent!"
"Heh, heh, heh!" The inventor lets out a smug laugh. "Just who do you think I am? Barring the Wright Brothers or maybe old man Daedalus, there's not a Heroic Spirit in existence more versed in aerodynamic design than me!"
"...But your flying machines were never actually built, were they?" I can't help but point out.
"Bah! The jump from blueprints to the real world is only difficult if you can't account for every tiny difference between reality and your mental model thereof." She says, waving off my concern with an absurd boast. "A beautiful genius like myself is more than capable of such things, you know? It's nowhere near as difficult as turning myself into a woman was."
"...Hang on, can you repeat that?" I must have misheard.
"Turning myself into a woman was much harder than creating vehicles is." She repeats, a smile on her face.
"So I heard right the first time!?"
"Indeed! Such a thing wasn't possible when I was alive, but since Spirit Origins are surprisingly malleable, I was able to turn myself into a perfect incarnation of beauty!" She boasts, flinging her arms wide. "Behold! Life imitates art!"
"Perfect incarnation of beauty…?" I mumble.
"Look! You want to see? See!" She says, growing more and more animated. "Feast your eyes! Glut your soul on my all encompassing beauty!"
"Well, there's no accounting for taste." I finally conclude.
"Eh!? Taste!? I'm the Mona Lisa! That Mona Lisa! Taste has nothing to do with it; this is what true beauty looks like!" She shouts. "...Oh!~ I see… you're the type who likes to see pretty girls flustered!~ I see, I see-!"
"No, I'm just not interested. The true standard of beauty is about four centimeters taller, with pointed ears, purple eyes and silver hair that reaches her waist." I explain, nodding to myself. "Also, she looks really beautiful in a white dress with purple highlights, although in truth she actually looks cute no matter what she's wearing. In addition, she's willing to call people stupid to their face, but only when they're actually being stupid or when she just happens to be really flustered. As an added bonus, she's got an adorable tendency to use outdated slang terms, allowing me to correct her as a running joke between the two of us. She wants to be king, but only because it's the only way she knows of to help a bunch of people from her hometown. In short, Emilia-tan is perfect, so you don't measure up at all!"
"Ah, I see. So it's a matter of love, huh?" The inventor replies with a melancholy smile. "I never experienced such a thing in life, so I can't comment. But then, looking at you, I'm kind of glad I never did."
"Eh?" Falling for Emilia was the best thing that ever happened to me, though. I'm not sure what she's on about.
"Subaru-kun… you do realize that you're crying, right?" Da Vinci points out, and the warm, salty liquid that had dripped into my mouth as I was speaking finally registers.
Huh. So I am.
***
Mordred and I leave Da Vinci's workshop around fifteen minutes later. We walk for a while in silence, her face clearly frowning. Finally, I break the silence.
"Sorry, things got a bit heavy there. I'm doing my best to keep my homesickness suppressed, but it occasionally leaks out like that." I say with a wry grin.
"Eh? No, that's fine. I cried after my fight with Father, so it's not like I've got room to judge you." She replies with a shrug. "On that note…" She turns to look at me, face-to-face, with a big smile on her face.
"...Thank you, Natsuki Subaru. Because of your encouragement, I was able to defeat my Father for the first time. Of course, that weirdness with Avalon was also a major factor. Because of you, the fairies accepted me as Arthur's successor. So… thank you." Suddenly, the Crimson Knight of Betrayal kneels in front of me, armor materializing. "If you'll allow someone like me to be your knight, then… My sword is yours. From here, to the depths of hell."
"...That's sort of weird, since I'm a knight myself, you know?" I say, scratching the back of my head.
"Oi, don't ruin the moment, you bastard!" She laughs.
"Sorry, sorry… Well, I've already said it, but I'm glad to have you on the team, Mordred." I say, grinning. "Welcome to the Emilia Faction of the Lugnica Royal Selection, I guess. Oh, and Chaldea too. That whole 'save the world' thing is still going on, so we should probably focus on that for now."
"I'm taking that as a promise to bring me to that other world along with you, ya know?" She says, standing back up and dematerializing her armor.
"Please, we're chronically short on firepower back home. Bringing whoever's willing to come is a matter of course." I point out. "...By the way, not to kill the moment, but are you actually okay with how things turned out with Arthur? I know I'd still be whining about it."
"Nah, I'm still not satisfied. But we're fighting to save the world after all." She says with a chuckle. "He acknowledged me as 'Sir Mordred', and that's progress. I'm sure Father will show up at least three more times after this, so I'll beat it into his head eventually."
"...Are you sure? She said she'd leave the rest to you, you know?" I say with a raised eyebrow.
"Hah! This is King Arthur we're talking about!" Mordred says pridefully. "The same person who, after getting knocked out of a jousting tournament, would sneak back into the tournament grounds wearing increasingly unconvincing disguises all the way into the finals!"
"Don't act like that's something to be proud of!" I yell.
"Isn't it? It was Father's way of showing his subjects that he would never give up fighting for them!" Mordred says, a sparkle in her eye.
"Are you sure she didn't just hate losing!?"
As I exit the infirmary, I run into an unexpected face. An athletic woman in a T-shirt and jeans, with blonde hair tied up in a ponytail - on her way back from the simulator, judging from the sweat on her face.
"Yo, Mordred! Did you finish bullying Mash already?" I ask the knight.
"Oi, I'm gonna need to object to your word choice there." She deadpans. "People will get the wrong idea."
"...Well I can see that." I reply, tapping my chin. "Then, did you finish stealing Mash's lunch money already?"
"Don't just double down on it!" She yells. "It's just training, dammit, training! It's natural that it's one-sided for now, since she's got to adapt that guy's fighting style to her smaller body!"
"Hm… if you say so." I mutter in faux concern. "Still, if I catch you sending her to the lunchroom to buy you food, I'm telling the teacher."
"Just what type of person do you think I am!?"
"Huh? A delinquent, obviously." I say without hesitation. "I bet you rode a motorcycle to school and hid on the rooftop to smoke cigarettes."
"No way! Those things are gross! I'm never smoking ever again!" She protests.
"Wait, so you've actually done it!?" I laugh.
"S-shut up!"
***
"So you were on your way to pick up your new sword?" I ask as we walk through the deserted hallway. "Da Vinci sure works fast, huh? I'm glad we've got someone reliable handling this stuff."
Considering we only got back four days ago, I'm sure it's gotta be an absurd feat, even if the [Mystic Code] she's creating will never measure up to [Clarent].
"Hey, don't go calling her reliable to her face. That woman's already got an ego and personality about as twisted as that flower bastard's." Mordred sighs.
"Flower bastard…?" I ask. If that's some old enemy of hers, I don't think I've heard-
"Merlin." She says. "I mean, they aren't rotten in quite the same ways, but it's annoying nonetheless."
"Eehh…" I groan. "So he's got a gross personality too, huh? I guess I should have been able to guess that by this point."
"Hm?" She raises an eyebrow.
"I met three or four renowned magic-users in the other world, and they were all perverts, scumbags, or perverted scumbags." I explain.
"Oh, if those are the categories, then it's easy - Da Vinci, Mother, Merlin." The knight says.
"Tch, so they're both perverts, huh? So, which kind? Exhibitionist perverts? Creepy clown perverts? 'Tee-hee, that drink was actually my bodily fluids' perverts?" I ask with a shudder.
"Merlin was half-incubus, so he couldn't feel emotion without leeching it from others… so he went around, telling innocent people things like 'unfortunately, your father will never love you', and 'don't worry, I'm sure someone will love you one day', and even 'I've fallen in love with you just now, would you marry me?' - just to laugh and take those emotions for his own later use!" She shouts, tears in her eyes.
Somehow, the image of a laughing man with slicked-back blue hair and a white and black mask appears in my mind. But I'm pretty sure that I've never met anyone like that, right?
"Eh, Master, you're looking a bit pale there…" Mordred comments.
"Roswaal is the teacher… the giant hamster wants to eat me… the little girl is a salaryman..." I mutter massaging my temples. "Ugh, my head…"
"Master, you're going cross-eyed, so stop thinking about strange things, okay!?"
***
Da Vinci's workshop is a mixed up place, full of all kinds of objects that really shouldn't be sharing a space - as befits the world-famous [Renaissance Man], who lived a ridiculous multi-faceted life as an artist, scientist, inventor, and mage. The shelves are filled with books, models, telescopes, strange magic items, blueprints… From the ceiling, several model flying contraptions hang, and spread across the room's multiple tables are various manuscripts, paintings, and diagrams.
...Well, that being said, it's all still several orders of magnitude more organized than Roswaal's office, so my butler's pride can let this one go.
"Well, if it isn't our mysterious alien man of mystery!" Says a beautiful dark-haired woman. "And Mordred as well - welcome to Da Vinci-chan's wonderful workshop!"
"Wait, do I actually seem that suspicious!?" I complain. "Also, despite my time in another world, I'm still originally from Earth, you know! Do you consider Neil Armstrong an alien!?"
Da Vinci smirks. "Well, depending on what the data that the Magi in the US have kept to themselves says, the answer might not be what you'd expect. But let's move past that for now, okay?"
"No, you definitely just said something unbelievable that I don't want to let slide…" I mutter.
"In any case, I suppose you've both come along to pick up my newest masterpiece?" She says, breezing past my flimsy protest and leading us over to a hastily constructed forge in one of the corners of the room. Once there, she picks up a two-handed sword in a silver-red scabbard, and unsheathes it to display a gleaming silver blade patterned with lines of blue crystal. "Ta-da! Da Vinci-chan's brand new [Azoth Longsword]! Let me tell you, reworking Para-kun's magnum opus into something that could be used in actual melee without breaking was no mean feat! But here it is - it's no [Clarent], but it should be able to repurpose and amplify your Mana Bursts in a similar enough manner for you to imitate what you did with that sword."
Mordred picks it up with some apprehension, giving it a few experimental swings - and then a smile splits her face and she lets out a gleeful shout. "Woah, what the hell!? This thing's actually amazing! I was expecting it to be all clumsy, 'cause you're not a swordsman, but it's almost as easy to use as Clarent!"
"Heh, heh, heh!" The inventor lets out a smug laugh. "Just who do you think I am? Barring the Wright Brothers or maybe old man Daedalus, there's not a Heroic Spirit in existence more versed in aerodynamic design than me!"
"...But your flying machines were never actually built, were they?" I can't help but point out.
"Bah! The jump from blueprints to the real world is only difficult if you can't account for every tiny difference between reality and your mental model thereof." She says, waving off my concern with an absurd boast. "A beautiful genius like myself is more than capable of such things, you know? It's nowhere near as difficult as turning myself into a woman was."
"...Hang on, can you repeat that?" I must have misheard.
"Turning myself into a woman was much harder than creating vehicles is." She repeats, a smile on her face.
"So I heard right the first time!?"
"Indeed! Such a thing wasn't possible when I was alive, but since Spirit Origins are surprisingly malleable, I was able to turn myself into a perfect incarnation of beauty!" She boasts, flinging her arms wide. "Behold! Life imitates art!"
"Perfect incarnation of beauty…?" I mumble.
"Look! You want to see? See!" She says, growing more and more animated. "Feast your eyes! Glut your soul on my all encompassing beauty!"
"Well, there's no accounting for taste." I finally conclude.
"Eh!? Taste!? I'm the Mona Lisa! That Mona Lisa! Taste has nothing to do with it; this is what true beauty looks like!" She shouts. "...Oh!~ I see… you're the type who likes to see pretty girls flustered!~ I see, I see-!"
"No, I'm just not interested. The true standard of beauty is about four centimeters taller, with pointed ears, purple eyes and silver hair that reaches her waist." I explain, nodding to myself. "Also, she looks really beautiful in a white dress with purple highlights, although in truth she actually looks cute no matter what she's wearing. In addition, she's willing to call people stupid to their face, but only when they're actually being stupid or when she just happens to be really flustered. As an added bonus, she's got an adorable tendency to use outdated slang terms, allowing me to correct her as a running joke between the two of us. She wants to be king, but only because it's the only way she knows of to help a bunch of people from her hometown. In short, Emilia-tan is perfect, so you don't measure up at all!"
"Ah, I see. So it's a matter of love, huh?" The inventor replies with a melancholy smile. "I never experienced such a thing in life, so I can't comment. But then, looking at you, I'm kind of glad I never did."
"Eh?" Falling for Emilia was the best thing that ever happened to me, though. I'm not sure what she's on about.
"Subaru-kun… you do realize that you're crying, right?" Da Vinci points out, and the warm, salty liquid that had dripped into my mouth as I was speaking finally registers.
Huh. So I am.
***
Mordred and I leave Da Vinci's workshop around fifteen minutes later. We walk for a while in silence, her face clearly frowning. Finally, I break the silence.
"Sorry, things got a bit heavy there. I'm doing my best to keep my homesickness suppressed, but it occasionally leaks out like that." I say with a wry grin.
"Eh? No, that's fine. I cried after my fight with Father, so it's not like I've got room to judge you." She replies with a shrug. "On that note…" She turns to look at me, face-to-face, with a big smile on her face.
"...Thank you, Natsuki Subaru. Because of your encouragement, I was able to defeat my Father for the first time. Of course, that weirdness with Avalon was also a major factor. Because of you, the fairies accepted me as Arthur's successor. So… thank you." Suddenly, the Crimson Knight of Betrayal kneels in front of me, armor materializing. "If you'll allow someone like me to be your knight, then… My sword is yours. From here, to the depths of hell."
"...That's sort of weird, since I'm a knight myself, you know?" I say, scratching the back of my head.
"Oi, don't ruin the moment, you bastard!" She laughs.
"Sorry, sorry… Well, I've already said it, but I'm glad to have you on the team, Mordred." I say, grinning. "Welcome to the Emilia Faction of the Lugnica Royal Selection, I guess. Oh, and Chaldea too. That whole 'save the world' thing is still going on, so we should probably focus on that for now."
"I'm taking that as a promise to bring me to that other world along with you, ya know?" She says, standing back up and dematerializing her armor.
"Please, we're chronically short on firepower back home. Bringing whoever's willing to come is a matter of course." I point out. "...By the way, not to kill the moment, but are you actually okay with how things turned out with Arthur? I know I'd still be whining about it."
"Nah, I'm still not satisfied. But we're fighting to save the world after all." She says with a chuckle. "He acknowledged me as 'Sir Mordred', and that's progress. I'm sure Father will show up at least three more times after this, so I'll beat it into his head eventually."
"...Are you sure? She said she'd leave the rest to you, you know?" I say with a raised eyebrow.
"Hah! This is King Arthur we're talking about!" Mordred says pridefully. "The same person who, after getting knocked out of a jousting tournament, would sneak back into the tournament grounds wearing increasingly unconvincing disguises all the way into the finals!"
"Don't act like that's something to be proud of!" I yell.
"Isn't it? It was Father's way of showing his subjects that he would never give up fighting for them!" Mordred says, a sparkle in her eye.
"Are you sure she didn't just hate losing!?"
Someone on SB said something about my wildly varied upload timing, so I hit him with the super early chapter for the sake of the joke. My eyes are dry from staying up to late, but it's funny so I'll call this worth it.
The Isekai Quartet reference is in no way an implication of any appearance from other Quartet characters. It's just a joke.
Also, that tidbit from Mordred at the end isn't canon (as far as we know), but it's so painfully Saber that I couldn't resist throwing it in after I thought of it.
Next chapter Wednesday maybe?
The Isekai Quartet reference is in no way an implication of any appearance from other Quartet characters. It's just a joke.
Also, that tidbit from Mordred at the end isn't canon (as far as we know), but it's so painfully Saber that I couldn't resist throwing it in after I thought of it.
Next chapter Wednesday maybe?
- Location
- Tampere
Mordred biggest Arthur fangirl.
Who?
Is the hamster from overlord?
I'm not familiar with Lostbelts, will that be relevant?
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Shinji117
Endless Troller
- Location
- Rokkenjima (Sydney)
- Pronouns
- He/Him
I think it's that demon general/shopkeeper guy from Konosuba, so may be a weird Isekai Quartet reference? I admit to not having watched either IQ or Konosuba or Overlord so could be wrong.
- Location
- Earth
It's definitely an Isekai Quartet reference. Roswaal was a teacher in Quartet, Hamuske the giant hamster is from Overlord, and Tanya from Saga of Tanya the Evil has the plot premise that a Japanese salaryman reincarnated into a tiny psuedo-European girl. But the good news is none of the Konosuba characters were mentally scarring enough for this Subaru to remember.
- Location
- Brazil
Is this the lore behind mysterious heroine x?
Teiwaz
Beloved of Adorjan.
- Location
- RUNNING AWAY
....shit fuck god dammit
It is now!