Chapter 87: Assemble
Tap, tap, tap...
Faldeus's fingertips rhythmically tapped the table, the dull sound echoing through the empty underground command room.
Faldeus sat heavily in a large office chair, his gaze fixed on the main monitor screen in front of him.
"Sir!"
At that moment, a subordinate rushed over to him in a panic and said in a low voice, barely able to hide his panic, "An immeasurable massive spiritual foundation reaction has occurred in the Crystal Mountain Hotel area. It's likely that our magical detection probes couldn't withstand the pressure and went into overload, paralyzing the entire physical surveillance system..."
Faldeus folded his hands in front of the table, his expression solemn.
"What happened to the magical detection network?" he asked calmly.
"Similarly... we cannot confirm the internal situation. All detection magic has failed. It seems the entire area's concepts have been completely cut off by some kind of magic."
Upon hearing this, Faldeus unconsciously clenched his folded hands, and his mood instantly plummeted to rock bottom.
Damn it!
What on earth had happened there? Until recently, he had been able to maintain a contractual connection with Caster, but ever since Caster had set foot in the Crystal Mountain Hotel... not only had the Servant's senses been forcibly severed, but even the absolute power of the Command Spells had been protected by some force and lost their effect.
In the general understanding of the Holy Grail War, there was only one way to achieve such absolute isolation.
——Reality Marble.
Clearly, one of the Servants present must have activated a Reality Marble that eroded reality and severed physical and magical connections with the outside world.
However... Among the Servants whose participation had been confirmed, who on earth possessed the special Noble Phantasm called "Reality Marble"?
No...
There was a severe lack of data right now. He had to find a solution...
After a long silence, Faldeus raised his eyes and said in a low voice, "Immediately dispatch the military drone squadron. No matter the cost, we must confirm the true situation on the ground as soon as possible."
"Yes!"
The subordinates did not hesitate for a moment. They hurriedly turned around and rushed toward the control panels.
Shortly afterward, several military drones coated with anti-magic coating took off swiftly.
As the cameras rapidly zoomed in, the scene around the Crystal Hill Hotel was finally displayed on the command center's massive main screen.
Faldeus took a cigar out of his pocket and was about to light it with a lighter when he casually glanced at the large screen.
Click.
The flame flared up vigorously, but the cigar didn't light.
"Lord Faldeus——!"
The subordinate in charge of accessing the surveillance footage suddenly turned around, his voice distorted by extreme terror.
"I know. First, calm down..." Faldeus's voice was hoarse, but he tried to remain as calm as possible. "It's probably just that the Masters and Servants who noticed the commotion over there have come to join in the fun."
Yes... Any rational magus would have reacted the same way upon seeing the shocking scene displayed on the screen.
In that scene, five colossal pillars of light towered from heaven to earth.
Burning gold, sea-like deep blue, ominous dark red, a captivating pink filled with ecstasy and decadence, and... an unparalleled sacred and gentle pure white.
These five pillars of light — each different yet equally terrifying — seemed to threaten Human Order and tear apart the boundary between heaven and earth.
No matter how you looked at it... this could not possibly be a miracle caused by mere "magus."
...Was this the moment when heroic spirits unleashed their Noble Phantasms?
No, the scale was completely wrong. It far exceeded the limits that a "Servant's" vessel could contain.
Faldeus unconsciously turned his head and looked at the massive magical computer that occupied half of the nearby wall.
It was originally a top-secret hegemonic trump card that the U.S. government had built at enormous expense, an attempt to collect and analyze combat data from various heroic spirits and reproduce the "miracle of the Greater Grail."
But now, the instrument dials kept spinning wildly, having exceeded their limits and stopped rotating.
It was as if they had completely lost the will to work.
Wait a minute...
At that moment, Faldeus's eyes sharply narrowed. In the center of the five pillars of calamity light that could destroy the world, he caught sight of an extremely small human figure.
Faldeus suddenly stood up and stared at the blurry figure on the screen.
Immediately after, he made an immediate decision. "Unlock the drone's security lock and keep approaching through the magical storm. We need to confirm that person's identity."
The subordinate shuddered and instinctively said, "If we get any closer, the drone's anti-magic armor will be completely torn apart by the leaking magical storm."
Faldeus simply stared at the screen and quietly said, "Do as I say."
"...Yes!"
Soon, the operator forcibly disabled the safety restrictions on the drone.
The expensive military drone relentlessly continued its advance toward the center of the Crystal Hill Hotel.
Under the immense pressure of magic, the machine began to shake unsteadily, and the entire screen violently trembled.
Amid the violently shaking screen, Faldeus's gaze captured a blurry yet very familiar figure.
The next moment, the entire screen was instantly covered in noise.
Without hesitation, Faldeus suddenly raised his face. "Immediately activate the Pentagon's supercomputing array 'Deep Blue.' Acquire all raw telemetry data and perform forced interpolation calculations on the distorted area using the magic deflection inverse model."
"Yes!"
Several veteran technicians immediately accessed the military's highest-level authority. They quickly cross-referenced the last piece of spectral analysis data sent just before the drone was destroyed, the infrared thermal imaging layer, and information from the three dimensions, then reconstructed it.
Soon, the restored high-definition image was projected onto the command center's massive main screen.
Upon seeing the footage on the screen, Faldeus was momentarily stunned. Then, as if he had seen a ghost, his eyes widened, and he couldn't help but mutter, "...Matou Yuu?!"
Yes, the person in the photo was none other than Matou Yuu — the Master of the Holy Grail War whom he had originally tried to eliminate by all means.
But... Why was it only him? Where was Tiamat?
"Lord Faldeus..." The subordinate in charge of data comparison swallowed hard. "We've confirmed it. The identity of the heroic spirit residing in one of the pillars of light is... the Second Beast, Tiamat!"
Faldeus furrowed his brows but maintained his composure. "I know. There's no need to panic over such a trivial matter."
He had known about Tiamat's existence long before summoning Caster Marisbury and had been somewhat mentally prepared.
After all, judging from Marisbury's confident and calm attitude at the time, he had clearly already prepared a "special attack" against the "Mother of Creation."
Even Matou Yuu probably couldn't have imagined that he was hiding such a trump card.
Thinking this, the corners of the man's mouth slightly rose.
However, the subordinate showed no sign of relaxing. He stared at the gradually restored panoramic image on the screen, and cold sweat unconsciously seeped from his forehead.
Eventually, he said in a terribly hoarse voice, "Lord Faldeus... It seems it's not just Tiamat."
"Yes... There are seven of them."
Faldeus's smile instantly disappeared.
Seven...? Seven what?
Then, as if he had suddenly realized something, his breathing quickened. He abruptly raised his head and stared at the restored high-definition image that had just been displayed on the screen.
Boom!
The next moment, as if witnessing something unbelievable, Faldeus felt as though thunder had roared in his head. His pupils temporarily dilated, and his thoughts froze.
An unbelievable sense of terror welled up within him, and his face instantly turned deathly pale.
He blankly stared at the space in the photo. Matou Yuu and the figures within the multiple pillars of light behind him seemed to have greatly shaken his worldview, and he was unconsciously swallowed by it.
"Beasts...?"
Yes... There was no doubt. The ones who had appeared behind Matou Yuu at this moment were all Beasts.
And judging from their number... there were actually seven of them?!
…
Above the Crystal Hill Hotel, the sky that had once been pale white like paper was now quietly being torn apart by a vast and endless golden halo.
It was the ultimate magic created by the condensation of billions of bands of light. It was as if it could melt everything on Earth like a blazing sun.
Under the scorching sun, a colossal golden beast with a massive and ferocious physique — combining the sacred and extreme eeriness — floated quietly in the air.
Rumble!
The ground violently shook, and the concrete surface suddenly cracked.
Countless magic pillars covered in scarlet eyeballs protruded from the ground. Its colossal body undulated, carrying the terrifying pressure of the First Beast.
"Hmph... I never thought a remote Holy Grail War would get this lively. I never expected a rat like you, who's been hiding in the sewers for so long, to come out on your own. Thanks to you, I've saved myself a lot of trouble."
Immediately after, the golden giant beast spoke in a coldly mocking voice.
"...Goetia. I never thought he would invite you."
Marisbury had never seen Goetia's true form, but the "Chaldeas" he had created was essentially a miniature Root.
Almost the instant Goetia appeared, the cosmic eye floating high in the sky automatically completed its "analysis" of Goetia.
[Target Confirmed: Beast I - Goetia]
[Existence Scale: Human Evil (Compassion) / Supervisor of the Seventy-Two Demon Gods]
[Noble Phantasm Core: "Ars Almadel Salomonis. With this, all things shall be restored." Possesses absolute power to gather the heat of 3,000 years of human history, burn away the Earth's surface, and reconstruct the galaxy.]
[Weakness Assessment: The only weakness is the first Noble Phantasm, "Ars Nova." Currently investigating the present timeline... Grand Caster (Solomon)'s spiritual foundation was not detected. Conclusion: Defense is impossible. No conceptual solution exists (Error).]
"Director of Chaldea, there is one thing I want you to understand."
Goetia's scarlet beast-like eyes coldly stared at Marisbury's pale face, as if looking down at a corpse.
"It wasn't that child who invited me. In fact, I wanted to have a proper 'chat' with you."
Through Solomon's all-seeing eyes, Goetia had foreseen humanity's future completely disappearing and perishing. That was why it had decided to burn humanity away in advance to stop Marisbury's "Planet Replacement" plan.
The culprit had finally appeared... Naturally, it had to settle the past grudges with its own hands against this man who had tried to replace "Gaia" with Chaldea.
"I see... You were drawn by the magic I activated?"
Marisbury suppressed the shock welling up in his chest. After his facial muscles slightly twitched, he forced a calm smile and slowly said, "The First Beast, Goetia, and the Second Beast, Tiamat... What an honor! I never imagined I would confront two great Beasts at the same time——"
"Two great Beasts?"
However, before he could finish speaking, a sweet and ear-piercing laughter suddenly echoed from the dazzling pink pillar of light. That laughter was so sweet it could melt a person's soul and even their bones.
"Hehehe... It seems I was being underestimated."
When that soft and captivating voice echoed, the illusory tentacles of "Chaldeas" that had been desperately calculating in the air suddenly froze and stopped moving.
Immediately after, a series of data quietly surfaced in Marisbury's mind.
[Warning: New Beast concept detected. Currently analyzing... Warning! System load is rapidly increasing! Warning!]
[Target Confirmed: Beast III/R · Sesshōin Kiara]
[Existence Scale: Human Evil]
[Noble Phantasm: 'Heaven's Hole.' Possesses the power to house the universe within its body and devour and melt all intelligent and desiring lifeforms.]
[Weakness Discovered: The target possesses absolute 'self-love.' Conventional physical and magical interference has no effect whatsoever... Analysis progress is being hindered.]
For just an instant, Marisbury's expression seemed to freeze.
Sesshōin... Kiara...?
Why was she in Snowfield City?!
Various thoughts raced through his mind, and emotions of confusion and bewilderment that he had long forgotten welled up in Marisbury's heart.
"Ever since I gained the power of 'analysis,' I have never been this confused."
However, before he could recover from the data analyzed by the "Beast of Analysis" Chaldeas, he was completely stunned.
Almost simultaneously, another clear and beautiful girl's voice suddenly echoed through this space filled with terrifying pressure.
"It seems you've been secretly having fun again while I was away."
Within that eerie dark red pillar of light, Draco — known as the "Apocalyptic Beast" — elegantly tucked her golden hair behind her ear.
She stared at the young man on the ground and slightly grinned, revealing her cute yet terrifying canines.
Almost the instant Draco opened her mouth, the "Great Red Dragon" with seven heads and ten horns — which had been seated in the sky radiating an apocalyptic aura — let out a soothing, faint growl like an obedient colossal dog.
However, the founder of Chaldea was given no time to catch his breath or think.
Chaldeas — which looked like a "cosmic eyeball" floating high in the sky — seemed to be exposed to an immense amount of information, and its countless tentacles were violently convulsing.
Then, data panels appeared one after another before Marisbury's eyes.
[Goddess of Creation Tiamat (Return)]
[Analysis Result: The Mother Goddess who governs the 'Principle of Return' aims to forcibly strip away the individuality of all life and return it to the primordial sea of life.]
[Beast III/L · Kama (The Fall)]
[Analysis Result: The form of a Demon King whose divinity has been completely stripped away. Erodes reality into blissful nothingness through the infinite proliferation of love and desire.]
[Beast IV · Cath Palug | Fou (Comparison)]
[Analysis Result: Prototype of Primate Murder, observer of planetary contact, monitors and records all outcomes.]
[Beast VI/S · Draco (Prosperity)]
[Analysis Result: The Beast of Sodom, who governs the Principle of Prosperity, feeds on the ultimate prosperity of human civilization and transforms the remnants of its glory and collapse into her own kingship.]
[Beast VI/G · Great Red Dragon (End)]
[Analysis Result: The ultimate calamity that governs the 'Principle of Nothingness.' Absolute negation following the destruction of the history of civilization — an existence of nothingness that rejects all continued existence.]
[Error: Could not fully resolve the object — Star Nightmare: Merlin]
[Analysis Result: Observer from the inner sea of the stars, planetary contact severed from humanity's evil laws.]
An immense amount of data surged like a tsunami. Although he had been mentally prepared, this man — cold and merciless like a machine — fell into a state of mental shutdown for a long time and even forgot to think for an instant.
His breathing quickened uncontrollably. When he looked up again, the pillars of light that had pierced heaven and earth had disappeared.
What spread out before his eyes was a terrifying sight that could only be described as a "picture of hell."
Despite being human, at this moment, the figures lined up behind Matou Yuu could only be called "despair."
If Chaldea's force field hadn't still been functioning, Marisbury might have even thought he was under some kind of hallucination.
Fou — the "Beast of Comparison" perched on Fujimaru Ritsuka's shoulder, Sesshōin Kiara wearing a nun's robe and a sweet smile, Merlin in a pure white robe with flowing silver hair, the young tyrant Draco wearing a crown symbolizing "desire," and Kama — the God of Love — who, though somewhat disheveled, had survived the devastating attack and was glaring at them while gritting her teeth.
Above the young man's head, the sky was torn open, and seven eyes like red lotuses coldly looked down upon the earth... These were the "Apocalyptic Beasts" heralding the end.
Furthermore, a solitary figure radiating humanity's light floated high above the clouds.
It was the figure of Goetia — the "First Beast" — coldly staring down at the ground.
Finally...
It was Tiamat — the primordial goddess who had been released from the Reality Marble by Matou Yuu.
She now looked different from her previous form as the "Second Beast" symbolizing "Return to the Path." Her long seaweed-like blue hair swayed, and her wine-red cross-shaped eyes stared straight at Marisbury.
At her feet, the power symbolizing the "Sea of Life" was quietly manifesting.
Seven... No, according to the analysis results sent by "Chaldea," Merlin was not a true Beast, so at most there were only six Beasts.
Even so, the current situation could only be described as "absurd."
In the history of humanity, had there ever been such an outrageous scene in a Holy Grail War?
All six great Beasts had chosen to stand on Matou Yuu's side?!
At this moment, even the former Lord of Astronomy — who had been known for his elegance and rationality — could not suppress his irritation and deep sense of humiliation.
The Beast of Analysis could certainly analyze everything, but the problem was... If the energy of these monsters were combined, they could probably kick the Earth around like a soccer ball.
No matter how great Chaldeas' "appetite" was, it was impossible to swallow so many "calamities" at once.
Nearby, Fujimaru Ritsuka and Mash were already in a daze. Even Romani — who had originally been indignant toward Marisbury — had forgotten to breathe from the sheer shock.
Even Waver — who was usually calm and composed — was at a loss for words from surprise.
He looked at his disciple, then turned his gaze to the Beasts symbolizing "calamity."
After a period of silence, the man took a deep breath and said, "Matou... What on earth is this...?"
Almost simultaneously, Fujimaru Ritsuka and Mash seemed to have come back to their senses. Although they were still in a daze, they unconsciously looked toward the young man.
"Professor, and everyone from Chaldea, please don't worry."
The young man turned toward El-Melloi II and the two Chaldea girls a short distance away and showed a bright smile.
"I am saving humanity."
This is what you call saving humanity?!
Upon seeing this sight, the Chaldea side and the teacher, Waver, almost simultaneously thought the same thing.
"Marisbury, if my memory serves me right, you thought those two Beasts weren't enough energy..."
Without caring about the thoughts around him, Matou Yuu quickly looked up at the only Marisbury in front of him and smiled brightly.
"So, is this enough?"
….
…
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