Chapter 85: Beast Analysis
Inside a café on a street corner in Snowfield City, soft orange light illuminated the tables. Along with rising steam, the rich aroma of coffee quietly drifted through the air.
Fujimaru Ritsuka and Mash sat side by side, engaged in an enthusiastic conversation with the Lord of the Clock Tower sitting across from them. They were trying to piece together a complete picture of Matou Yuu by discussing his past.
As they quietly listened, the two girls wore thoughtful expressions.
The Clock Tower — the central stronghold of the Mage's Association — had always maintained extremely high entry requirements and placed great emphasis on bloodline and tradition.
This special magecraft organization exercised very strict control over its students. The majority of students who could study there came from prestigious mage families with deep histories and brilliant pedigrees.
In comparison, Matou Yuu's background was not particularly fortunate among those self-important nobles.
He was merely a magus from a city in Japan and had been engaged to Matou Sakura since childhood.
Logically speaking, this ordinary young man should have remained at the Clock Tower until graduation, then obediently returned to Fuyuki, inherited the family business, married the girl, and lived a relatively ordinary life as a mage.
But... something felt wrong...
Waver tapped rhythmically on the solid wood table while holding an unlit cigar between his fingers.
His deeply tired-looking eyes silently stared at the two girls sitting across from him.
"You've been asking a lot of questions from the very beginning. Now it's my turn to ask... Does the 'Singularity' in Snowfield City have anything to do with him?"
Fujimaru Ritsuka was momentarily at a loss for words before quickly regaining her composure. "No... It's just that behind the various historical distortions currently happening in Snowfield City, I can sense a faint shadow of Matou-san. Since we have no leads at all for the investigation, we have no choice but to investigate his acquaintances to find a breakthrough."
"Everything is connected to him...?"
Waver turned his gaze toward the cityscape outside the window. For a moment, silence brought a moment of bliss.
Flat had already gotten involved in the incident. As a Professor, he had hoped more than anyone that some kind of retribution would befall one of his students.
However, judging from the various signs the two girls were currently showing, it was clear they had come here to save humanity.
Furthermore... Based on the information they had revealed, it seemed an extremely dangerous Beast was lurking in Snowfield City, and this matter was very likely closely connected to Matou Yuu.
After all, everything felt far too coincidental.
Wherever Matou Yuu appeared, a Beast would appear...
This was the classic plot often seen in a certain detective anime where murders occur wherever the elementary school protagonist goes. Any rational observer would inevitably suspect that he was possessed by some kind of existence.
However...
Even so, I will continue to believe in him.
Waver averted his gaze and spoke in an unusually calm and resolute voice. "That idiot always looks listless and comes up with all sorts of ridiculous excuses to skip my classes... but I absolutely do not believe he is the kind of villain who would threaten humanity's survival."
"Hmm... We can trust what Matou-san says. Therefore, to avoid unnecessary misunderstandings right now, we want to understand the situation as much as possible."
Fujimaru Ritsuka stood up and solemnly bowed her head to the man before her. "Thank you for the information, Lord El-Melloi. Please rest assured. We will definitely uncover the truth behind this Singularity and safely bring back both Matou-san... and your other student, Flat."
Waver nodded lightly and was about to open his mouth.
However, at that moment, Mash suddenly raised her face and whispered, "Senpai, we have an emergency contact from Chaldea..."
She placed her large cross-shaped shield beside her and skillfully activated the magical communication module built into it.
A pale blue light flashed, and at the same time, a holographic image unfolded in the air, displaying the scene inside Chaldea's central control room and Romani's extremely serious expression.
"Doctor Romani... Did you identified the cause of the anomaly in Snowfield City?" Fujimaru Ritsuka immediately stepped forward and asked.
Normally, Romani would have immediately explained the issue he was investigating.
However, the man in this image was acting uncharacteristically and was staring at the two girls with a complex expression.
"Doctor...?"
Sensing the eerie silence filling the air, Fujimaru Ritsuka slightly tilted her head, a look of confusion appearing in her eyes. "What's wrong? You have a very serious expression... Has the situation in Snowfield City deteriorated beyond repair?"
"Ritsuka, Mash... After I finish speaking, please stay calm."
What could have caused Doctor Romani to have such a serious expression...?
Fujimaru Ritsuka's heart skipped a beat, and a vague sense of unease crept in. She asked hesitantly, "What is it——"
However, before she could finish speaking, Romani's next words — unbelievably calm — echoed like thunder in the ears of the two girls, and their minds went completely blank in an instant.
"The first director, Marisbury... is still alive."
"Furthermore..."
Romani took a deep breath as if he had made up his mind, slowly exhaled, and stared at the two girls.
"The true purpose behind the founding of Chaldea was probably... a complete deception from the very beginning."
…
Crystal Hill Hotel
The pale white sky had been completely torn apart. Countless lotuses burning with eerie blue flames rained down from the sky.
If one were standing on the ground looking up at the sky, it would be a breathtakingly beautiful and unbelievably dazzling meteor shower.
That was the power of the "Beast of Love". These blue lotuses were not flames in the physical sense, but demonic flowers that could instantly ignite reason and cause souls to willingly fall into ultimate pleasure.
In a sense, this kind of "love" that forcibly assimilated the will was even more dangerous than "all the evil in the world."
However...
Faced with the flowers of decadence that could potentially engulf all of Snowfield City in a vortex of desire, Sajyou Manaka — standing on the hotel rooftop — maintained an unwavering innocent smile.
She simply tilted her head back. The dancing blue lotuses were reflected in her clear blue eyes, as if she were watching dazzling fireworks.
"Is this your 'love,' Matou-san? Desperately wishing to confine all the love in the universe within your own body... You're truly a greedy and shameless little villain."
Sajyou Manaka let out a sweet and adorable sigh and slowly raised her right hand.
The smile on her delicate and beautiful face gradually lost control and transformed into something dangerous. "However, Matou-san, it seems you are slightly underestimating me!"
The moment these words were spoken, the entire space began to violently stir!
For Sajyou Manaka — who was connected to the "Root" and had given birth to the apocalyptic beast — there was absolutely no need to chant incantations.
Because what she "thought" was what she "changed."
Almost the instant Sajyou Manaka raised her right hand, the colossal red dragon at her feet shattered, and countless red points of light erupted into the sky.
Immediately after, seven eerie crimson beams of light illuminated the pale white sky!
They did not belong to the domain of magic at all. Rather, they were the manifestation of the concept of the Great Red Dragon recorded in the Book of Revelation!
Discarding its original form as a colossal and ferocious beast, under Kama's gaze, beneath the pale white sky, an indescribable figure with seven heads and ten horns appeared. Each horn was adorned with a crown of arrogance.
Faced with this malice symbolizing "original sin" and "the end," the concept of love embodied by the falling blue lotuses of flame could not even touch the hem of Sajyou Manaka's skirt.
The moment they approached the "domain" centered on Sajyou Manaka, those blue lotuses of flame were instantly stripped of their existence — like snowflakes melting under the sun's heat — and disappeared into the air as blue particles of light.
Kama stared at the seven pairs of demonic deep crimson eyes floating in the sky with an expression filled with surprise.
This girl... could analyze and manipulate the concept of a Beast to this extent?!
When Kama first saw the Great Red Dragon, she had simply assumed it was a special familiar with extraordinary power. The apocalyptic beast, the Great Red Dragon, was indeed unaffected by her "love," but what about Sajyou Manaka?
If she could directly brainwash and control Sajyou Manaka using the power of "love," this troublesome monster would naturally self-destruct.
However... she had failed.
To be precise, Sajyou Manaka's very existence had already completely fused with the concept of the "Great Red Dragon."
"What a truly astonishing thing. Not only did they create this monster with their own hands, but they thoroughly 'analyzed' its underlying structure and completely transformed the concept of this apocalyptic beast into their own domain."
Kama slightly lowered her eyes and looked down at the pure white girl and the crimson light surrounding her, symbolizing the "apocalyptic beast."
"Sajyou-san, you truly impress me."
"Is that so?"
Sajyou Manaka slightly tilted her head and said, "But you're a little disappointed, aren't you?"
She elegantly spread both arms as if embracing the world and said, "Trying to make me submit to your charitable and excessive 'love' is completely ridiculous."
"Because my love will always, always be dedicated only to your brother, you know?"
Buzz!
Almost the instant these words were spoken, the purple magical energy Kama had been suppressing exploded in an instant. An immense and suffocating amount of magical energy violently erupted from her body.
"Is that so...? The fact that you speak of such narrow-minded possessiveness means that even the arrogant Princess of the Root is, in the end, nothing more than a pitiful creature who wants to assert her own dominance."
Her deep purple eyes coldly stared at the girl who seemed to want to proudly display her pathological love to the entire world.
"What else can I do?"
Sajyou Manaka tilted her head as if it were the most natural thing in the world and smiled even more sweetly. "You clearly love someone to death, yet you don't have the courage to admit it. Compared to someone like you who tries to hide behind a false appearance like a shy loser dog, isn't it better to openly declare ownership?"
At that moment, she suddenly seemed to remember something very interesting. A blush appeared on her white cheeks, and a mischievous, playful smile formed on her lips.
"In other words... Regarding that so-called 'fiancé' you're always talking about, haven't you realized that you actually have feelings for him?"
"If that's really the case, isn't it a bit pathetic that you can only compete in secret?... What do you think, self-deceiving fiancée-san?"
Having her vital point thoroughly attacked, Matou Sakura's expression turned grim, and an indescribably terrifying killing intent quietly spread.
"Have you finished your last words?"
Buzz!
Accompanied by an ear-splitting roar, a colossal deep purple lotus — so large it shook the soul — suddenly bloomed at Kama's feet.
In the blink of an eye, her body transformed into the adult form with an extremely seductive figure. Invisible flames of karma burned on her body... It was none other than the Sixth Heaven Demon King, the ruler of the realm of desire.
Kama slowly and expressionlessly raised her slender arms. The endless labyrinth called the "Inner Palace" was mercilessly eroding and replacing this real space.
"Oh? A Reality Marble...?"
Sajyou Manaka's eyes were filled with pathological enthusiasm and excitement, without the slightest hint of fear.
She smiled and spread both arms wide. "You've finally gotten serious... In that case, I'll play along for a while——"
However, just as she finished speaking, a dazzling golden light like a shooting star streaked across the sky!
Boom!
Accompanied by a sharp sound as if the wind itself was being torn apart, several dazzling golden divine weapons flew out from the Gate of Babylon floating in the void, instantly halting the tense air between the two.
Almost simultaneously, both Sajyou Manaka and Kama raised their faces and looked up.
Gilgamesh was lounging on the throne of the celestial vehicle Vimana, looking down at the two below with an arrogant and haughty attitude.
Matou Sakura — or rather, the Goddess of Love now completely dominated by Kama — narrowed her beautiful eyes radiating a captivating light and coldly stared at this uninvited guest.
"You are... the Hero King? This is a personal grudge between this goddess and the Princess of the Root. What does it have to do with you?"
Gilgamesh snorted contemptuously, arrogance appearing in his blood-red eyes as he said, "If it weren't for that mongrel and Tiamat, do you think I would have any interest in a fight between the two of you?"
That mongrel... Was he talking about Matou Yuu?
Kama's heart faintly throbbed.
However, before she could retort, Gilgamesh irritably raised his chin and spoke in a tone filled with blatant mockery.
"How truly foolish. You're fighting so fiercely, yet you haven't noticed at all that the stage beneath your feet has been tampered with? Or is it that you're so blindly confident in your own power that you even look down on the rats watching this farce from the shadows?"
While languidly playing with the golden cup in his hand, he spoke in a loud voice that echoed through the empty street.
"Come out! How long do you intend to hide in those disgusting shadows, Director of Chaldea!"
The moment he finished speaking, the entire street seemed to fall silent for an instant.
Immediately after——
Clap, clap, clap...
From the deepest, darkest corner at the end of the long street, slow and steady applause quietly rose.
The moment that tall and slender figure stepped into the moonlight, Kama directed a cold gaze at Marisbury.
Meanwhile, the gaze Sajyou Manaka directed at Marisbury carried a deeper meaning.
"Truly worthy of being called the 'Star of Omniscience' of the heroic realm. It seems your eyes have already foreseen the development of this game."
Marisbury stopped and spoke in a tone of genuine admiration.
Then he casually asked, "But if you had seen through everything from the very beginning... why didn't you stop me beforehand?"
"Stop you? Don't get ahead of yourself, you mongrel!"
Gilgamesh directed his gaze at the insignificant insect and sneered. "I am the king who judges the value of humanity. Your plan is, in essence, nothing more than the 'ultimate malice born from humanity's self-preservation instinct' — merely a 'distorted trial and error' in the development of human civilization. Why would I stop humanity from choosing its own extinction?"
"Distorted...?"
Marisbury slowly chewed on the words, and the smile on his face did not disappear. "King of Heroes, you will soon understand that my plan is by no means a distorted trial and error, but the one and only best law that allows people to obtain permanent guarantees in the vast universe."
"And then, next is..."
At that moment, an extremely rare twisted smile mixed with fanaticism and excitement appeared on his usually indifferent face.
"In that case, King of Heroes, I would like you to become a witness to this banquet as well and surrender yourself to its frenzy!"
Buzz!
Almost the instant these words left his mouth, Gilgamesh's eyes sharpened, and an extreme sense of danger flashed through his mind.
Kama, who was standing nearby, seemed to have sensed something and suddenly looked up at the sky.
Beneath the pale white pathological sky, a colossal "alien star" quietly appeared.
It presented a chilling and chaotic coloration, its surface covered in spiderweb-like massive and intricately intertwined grooves, as if it were an extremely sophisticated cosmic eyeball silently looking down upon the small snowfield city below.
Although it was called a "Beast," the immense spiritual origin mass that distorted space clearly surpassed the realm of ordinary Beasts... Rather, it should be called a "planet" with its own will!
Staring at this unbelievably strange existence, Kama's beautiful eyes suddenly widened, and an unprecedented sense of terror welled up within her. She could only mutter, "What... on earth is that?!"
…
Meanwhile, on the road outside this battle zone.
Suddenly, a black SUV made a sharp turn and came to an abrupt stop at the edge of the intersection.
Inside the vehicle sat Fujimaru Ritsuka and Mash.
The one acting as the driver was none other than the Lord of the Clock Tower, El-Melloi II.
He glanced at the two pale-faced girls in the back seat through the rearview mirror and quietly said, "I don't know exactly what happened inside Chaldea... but is it really okay to say something that would completely lower the morale at this critical juncture?"
The spiritual communication device inside the car faintly flickered, and Romani's heavy voice could be heard. "This is something they will have to face sooner or later. It would be better to prepare their hearts as soon as possible rather than waiting until they meet the director and learn the truth."
In the end... It wasn't only Ritsuka and Mash whose faith had been shattered.
Even Romani and Leonardo da Vinci, who had been in Chaldea's control room at the time, had felt a hair-raising terror and anger when they reached that conclusion.
However...
The cold and solid observation data was right in front of them, and they had no choice but to believe it.
To prevent Chaldea's technology and assets from being divided among the hyenas of the Mage's Association, after winning the Holy Grail War and founding Chaldea, Marisbury had chosen to shoot himself in the director's office and commit suicide.
This was the version of the story that all of Chaldea's employees firmly believed in.
However, Marisbury's appearance and the strong resonance with "Chaldea" in Antarctica suggested that Chaldea's so-called "Humanity Protection Plan" had been a complete conspiracy from the very beginning.
A large-scale hoax that Marisbury had used to deceive the world and fool the masses.
Because... The Chaldea stored in the control room was not merely a device for observing the future.
In a sense, it could be said to be the "skin of the planet" prepared to replace the real Earth!
The true intent behind Chaldea's founding was to completely replace Gaia's rule on Earth with Chaldea's rule...
This was the fundamental reason why the usually gentle Romani was furious at this moment.
The original intent behind Chaldea's founding, the beautiful vision of protecting Human Order that Marisbury had discussed with him all night long...
All of the glorious dreams of salvation he himself had spoken of were a complete deception!
Marisbury had never truly been dead in the first place.
He had faked his death and escaped, continuing to lurk in the shadows. All of it was to find the immense energy needed to truly activate "Chaldea."
Now...
The reason the other party had stopped hiding and openly appeared was because the energy gathered in the Singularity of Snowfield City had become sufficient to execute the "Alien Replacement" plan.
However...
There were two Beast-class disasters... plus one Hero King with above-average strength among the Servants...
Did he really have the confidence to face three such troublesome existences at the same time?
Just as Romani's thoughts were heading in that direction at this very moment——
Buzz!
Suddenly, an unprecedented buzzing sound echoed from this space.
Immediately after, a cold and mechanical voice that conveyed no emotion whatsoever — as if symbolizing "universal truth" — quietly echoed through the collapsing space.
"It is not born, does not die, and does not return. No one can protect this place. God exists within nothingness, and its name is Chaldea."
"Maris CHALDEAS——"
"God is nothingness. Nothingness is God. Emptiness is the universe."
"Analyzing all things..."
Beneath the pale sky, the "Beast of Analysis" possessing unparalleled chaos and abstraction slowly extended countless translucent tentacles, covering the entire sky with overwhelming power.
"Wait, what on earth is this thing planning?!"
Romani's expression changed. He suddenly raised his face and shouted excitedly, "Run! Run! Mash, Ritsuka, get everyone out of that place! That is——"
However, it was already too late.
Almost the instant Romani finished speaking, streaks of pure white light symbolizing the "analysis of all things" rained down like the Sword of Damocles — the sword of judgment!
….
…
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