Chapter 93:
Amid the swirling fragments of magic, a majestic deep crimson light pierced through the multiple layers of barriers. A young man in a black robe appeared before everyone's eyes.
"Matou Yuu...?"
The moment Marisbury saw who it was, he almost instinctively blurted out the name.
Even this Lord of Astromancy, known for his rationalism, could not help but feel slightly shaken at this moment.
He was not afraid of death. Otherwise, he would never have pulled the trigger without hesitation in the Chaldea director's office and staged such an elaborate "suicide" to deceive everyone.
However, if he died now, the "Eternal Continuation of Human Order" project he had planned for years would come to a complete end.
Most importantly... he was now nothing more than a forcibly restrained Servant's body. There was no record of his spiritual origin left in the Throne of Heroes. Furthermore, Chaldea had been destroyed... If he were killed here, every trace that "Marisbury" had ever existed in this world would completely disappear.
Thinking this, Marisbury's obsession with realizing his ideal transformed into a desire to survive. He instinctively took half a step back.
The long street was wrapped in an eerie silence.
All the Clock Tower magi turned their gazes toward the young man before them.
Faced with this man who had rudely destroyed the magical barrier and showed no aristocratic etiquette whatsoever, their reactions varied. Some were confused, some were shocked, some were afraid... and some were angered by the fact that their authority had been challenged.
For many years, the Clock Tower — the "holy land of magecraft" — had never been so blatantly provoked. Their first reaction upon seeing Matou Yuu was, "Who on earth is this person?"
Among the indignant group of magi, only Barthomeloi Lorelei — known as the "Queen of the Clock Tower" — showed no particular emotional fluctuation from beginning to end.
She simply directed a cold gaze at the black-haired young man before her.
"Matou Yuu. From the Matou family of Fuyuki City, disciple of El-Melloi II... Just the other day, the Snowfield City monitoring station confirmed your death. However, it seems there was a major malfunction in the Department of Law's information network?"
The moment he heard the woman's words, Matou Yuu's gaze locked onto Marisbury within the crowd, and he suddenly smiled.
"Was it only my intelligence that was defective?"
"Marisbury... He must have prepared an even bigger surprise for you as well, right?"
Barthomeloi glanced sideways and directed a cold gaze at Marisbury beside her, slightly furrowing her brows, but showed no reaction.
She quickly returned her gaze to the young man before her and slowly said, "I don't know what happened between you and Marisbury, but in any case, he is the Lord of the Department of Astromancy... Even if he is guilty, he should be judged in the Department of Law and Politics after returning to the Clock Tower."
Matou Yuu slightly lowered his eyes, appearing to be deep in thought.
After a while, he gave a slight nod and asked in a calm tone, "If it were crimes such as vivisecting living humans for a hundred years, attempting to overturn Human Order, or forcibly replacing this planet... According to the rules of the Department of Law and Politics, what kind of death penalty would he ultimately receive?"
Barthomeloi paused for a moment. While staring at Marisbury, a hint of hesitation appeared in her eyes.
Overturning Human Order? Replacing the planet? How could a magus possibly accomplish something so outrageous?
However, before she could finish her thoughts, Marisbury's unbelievably calm and gentle voice came from beside her. "I'm sorry... but I truly don't understand what you're saying."
Marisbury appeared composed. A faint smile lingered in the eyes he directed at the young man.
"During my journey in pursuit of truth, I admit I encountered some unexpected problems in data processing. However, as for ridiculous jokes such as overturning Human Order or replacing the planet in front of two Lords, it would be wiser not to mention them."
That's right... In just a few seconds, Marisbury had weighed the pros and cons and found his answer.
At this point, he had absolutely no need to admit to any of these things.
Because the ultimate ideal of the "Eternal Continuation of Human Order" was something ordinary people could never understand.
More importantly, he understood the psychology of magi perfectly.
Currently, Chaldea — which had recorded all the evidence of his crimes — had been completely devoured by ORT. As long as he stubbornly refused to admit anything, the answer was obvious as to whether the old foxes of the Clock Tower would protect the living treasury that held all of Chaldea's core technology or side with Matou Yuu.
"My, young people these days really are impatient."
As expected, McDonell Trambelio immediately stepped in with a smile to mediate the situation.
The robust leader of the Democratic Faction adopted the attitude of a generous elder and let out a sincere sigh.
"Where in this world is there a place so black and white? Even if Lord Marisbury went a little too far in his experiments in pursuit of truth... as long as it is for the prosperity of the entire magical world, some necessary sacrifices are unavoidable."
After saying this, he smiled at the black-haired young man and said, "If my memory serves me right, you were the second brother's disciple. For Velvet's sake, I'll overlook the fact that you recklessly destroyed the barrier."
"However, Lord Marisbury... would you please return safely to London with us today?"
These words contained both pressure from those in power and a feigned "concession," making them perfectly calculated.
He did not deny Marisbury's actions, nor did he dismiss these inhumane crimes as mere "experimental errors."
It was not difficult to imagine that even if Marisbury returned to the Clock Tower in the future, he would not receive any substantial punishment due to the exchange of benefits.
Matou Yuu said nothing and simply watched them quietly.
At that moment, Marisbury — who had remained silent until now — finally spoke again.
Slowly emerging from within the crowd, he had regained composure in his gaze and spoke in an astonishingly calm tone. "Matou Yuu, I think I understand the reason for your anger... You feel that my treatment of that child was too cruel, don't you?"
"Is that right?"
Matou Yuu retorted.
The man elegantly adjusted his cuffs and quietly shook his head. "To be honest, I cannot understand your sense of ethics. As a member of the Animusphere family, if she cannot contribute to the grand ideal of the 'Eternal Protection of Human Order,' then her birth was meaningless."
"I gave her life, so she should sacrifice herself for the truth. If her temporary suffering can be exchanged for the absolute guarantee of humanity's survival as a whole... then for an ordinary human like her, that would be the greatest value she could achieve. Don't you agree?"
After he finished speaking, Marisbury looked at the young man and slowly said, "Compassion is the cheapest thing in this world and completely worthless in the face of great truth. If I were you, I would choose to leave here rather than act on base emotional impulses."
Aside from the brief moment of panic when he first met Matou Yuu, the man's expression had hardly changed throughout the subsequent negotiations.
Because all of this was within the scope of precise calculation.
Matou Yuu was a student of the Clock Tower, but his teacher, Waver, was still quite inexperienced. If he acted at this moment... it would not only target him alone but would shake the entire Clock Tower.
As long as Matou Yuu did not completely abandon his life in the magical world, the outcome of this farce had already been decided the moment Barthomeloi and McDonell appeared in Snowfield City.
Having seen through the full picture of this "game," Marisbury seemed to have lost interest in the young man.
He ignored Matou Yuu and turned his gaze toward the two Lords before him.
"Everyone, we've wasted enough time. Let's return to London."
McDonell smiled and turned sideways, gesturing for the people to enter.
The remaining dozens of fully armed magi immediately changed formation. To protect Marisbury in the center, multiple layers of special magical barriers quickly appeared.
Everything had calmed down.
"I can prove that what Matou-san said is true!"
At that moment, from the end of the long street, a girl's voice filled with urgency and anger suddenly echoed.
The two Lords looked in the direction of the sound and saw a girl in an orange-haired Chaldea uniform standing at the edge of a pile of ruins.
Barthomeloi stared at the girl for a moment before asking, "Who are you?"
"Fujimaru Ritsuka!" The orange-haired girl met the Queen of the Clock Tower's gaze without flinching. Her eyes were filled with extraordinary determination. "Not just me, but all the records in Chaldea's deepest data! I can testify to the crimes Matou-san mentioned... We've already dealt with the Director, and if she wakes up later, we——"
"That's enough."
However, before she could finish speaking, Barthomeloi cut her off without hesitation.
The noble candidate for headmaster didn't even spare her a glance as she coldly said, "The Clock Tower's trials are not something that 'ordinary people' who can't even see magic circuits can interfere with. Testimony is nothing more than worthless scraps of paper without mystical value. You should keep that for your own entertainment. I have my own standards of judgment."
At that moment, McDonell smiled and said, "Young lady, even if you present solid evidence that Lord Marisbury committed all sorts of crimes... it wouldn't mean much."
Fujimaru Ritsuka froze, her eyes widening in disbelief. "Wouldn't mean much...? He was torturing people——"
"That is a 'necessary investment' made for the future of all humanity."
McDonell continued the conversation with a smile still on his face. "As long as his abilities can guarantee the prosperity of magecraft and the continuation of Human Order, most so-called 'mistakes' will be forgiven. After all, everything is for the greater good."
The moment she heard these outrageous statements, Fujimaru Ritsuka felt as though the blood in her body had suddenly reversed. A wave of intense anger and absurdity surged through her all at once.
However, just as she was about to take a step forward to argue——
"Give up, Ritsuka."
No one knew when it had started, but Romani's low, weary voice echoed in her ears.
The man, who usually wore a gentle smile, had deep helplessness and sorrow in his eyes.
"Doctor... why? He clearly did something wrong!" The girl's voice was filled with powerlessness as she stared at Marisbury within the crowd.
How could he commit such heinous crimes and torture the Director so cruelly, yet still be able to return to the Clock Tower unscathed?!
Romani glanced at the gathered magi through the spiritual communication records and quietly sighed. "It's not that they don't believe what Matou-san said... It's just that they don't care at all."
Yes, they didn't care.
In this world, morality and humanity were nothing more than the most worthless scraps of paper.
To these politicians in power, Marisbury's "value" far outweighed any crime he had committed.
Politicians had always only considered their own interests and the value of the results.
For a moment, the surroundings felt strangely silent.
Marisbury quietly observed this scene. Finally looking relieved, a faint smile appeared on his previously indifferent face.
Without hesitation, he turned around, intending to leave while protected by the highest-level barriers erected by the entire magi unit.
"In that case, I——"
However, just as he was about to lift his heel, the young man's unbelievably calm voice suddenly came from behind him.
"I don't think that's what I said. You can go home now, right?"
Marisbury suddenly felt a chill run down his spine, and his heart pounded violently in his back.
He suddenly turned around. Before he could react, he saw Matou Yuu instantly break through dozens of the Clock Tower's most authoritative defensive layers and approach like a god of death. His pupils widened in shock.
Without hesitation, Matou Yuu grabbed Marisbury's neatly combed silver hair with one hand and slammed that hypocritical face onto the cold concrete ground with thunderous force.
Boom!
The hard floor turned into a massive spiderweb-like dent. A violent dizziness assaulted him. Marisbury saw stars, and the black-robed young man before his eyes appeared as countless double images.
Nearby, McDonell felt a chill run down his spine and suddenly raised his voice. "Matou Yuu! Do you know what you're doing?! Do you want to make the entire Clock Tower your enemy?!"
Matou Yuu pressed down hard on Marisbury's head with one hand and slowly raised his face to look up at the group of high-ranking Lords before him.
He grinned, showing an unbelievably bright yet extremely savage smile.
"To hell with the Mage's Association."
"You——!"
Even the most capable politicians, skilled in disguise and political maneuvering, would have their thoughts momentarily freeze upon hearing such vulgar, crude, and extremely unpleasant insults.
Immediately after, McDonell felt intense anger, but upon seeing the unbelievably violent young man, he lacked the courage to approach.
At that moment, he caught sight of El-Melloi II arriving late at the end of the long street in the corner of his vision.
McDonell rejoiced as if clinging to a lifeline and said in a desperate tone, "Velvet, you've come at the perfect time! Quickly persuade your disciple to put down his sword. There's still time!"
Waver stood at the end of the long street, staring at the young man pressing down on Marisbury's head before him, then glanced at the staggering magi a short distance away.
Even without asking directly, he had already roughly grasped the situation.
He opened his mouth, but before he could speak, he saw Matou Yuu lift Marisbury's head with one hand.
At this very moment, true terror exploded within Marisbury's heart.
He stared at the magic sword symbolizing the "UO of the Moon," and despair appeared in his eyes.
He understood very well that the moment that sword was swung, not only would this body disappear, but the very existence of Marisbury would be completely erased from this world.
He also knew that Matou Yuu was trying to kill him not "to save humanity," but simply out of "hatred" toward them and toward Olga Marie, whom he already considered defective.
However, he could not understand why this human would go so far over such a trivial matter and even openly rebel against the Mage's Association.
Matou Yuu did not swing his sword immediately. He wanted to make the Clock Tower's powerful figures realize just how evil this Lord of Astromancy was.
"Former Lord of the Clock Tower's Department of Astromancy, Marisbury Animusphere, secretly plotted humanity's extinction for his own selfish reasons. Even more evilly, in order to maintain the computational ability of an alien being, he used his own daughter as a sacrifice, imprisoning her soul in Avīci Hell and subjecting her to a hundred years of being cut apart."
"Such immoral and cruel acts that trample on life should not be forgiven. To this day, he has shown no remorse whatsoever. On the contrary, he continues to try to deceive the world with noble lies."
However, instead of taking action, the Mage's Association tried to protect the perpetrator.
"Matou Yuu——"
Barthomeloi, standing nearby, suddenly changed her expression and tried to step forward using magic to stop him.
However, she was one step too late.
"Since the Clock Tower's laws have become a laughingstock, I will enforce them according to my own laws!"
Pfft!
With a swift motion, the blade fell.
As the world turned upside down, Marisbury's pupils widened. He seemed to see "Chaldeas" — the crystallization of wisdom he had created — in the sky. He saw Olga Marie's desperate eyes in the operating room. He saw the distorted terror and anger on the faces of the politicians at the Clock Tower. That anger was not for his death, but because this uncontrollable young man had violently slapped their noble faces in public.
Finally, the image froze on Matou Yuu's face, which wore a cold smile.
"You..."
His head remained on the ground. Marisbury's lips moved. And finally, his vision was completely swallowed by endless darkness.
A cold wind howled, and the pungent smell of blood filled the long street.
Under everyone's still-shocked gazes, Matou Yuu slowly flicked the blood droplets from his blade.
"Professor, I'm sorry. Thank you for looking after me these past two years."
He turned around and respectfully bowed his head toward Waver a short distance away.
"I'm withdrawing from the Clock Tower immediately."
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