Danmachi: The Multiverse Portal

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The Outskirts of Snowfield

A car rolled out of the factory gates. August was driving, Hestia sat beside him, and Liliruca Arde worked quietly in the back seat.

"Abnormal energy detected. Confirming a large concentration of mana gathering outside the city."

Lili watched the program on her laptop. The readings showed that a huge upsurge of magical energy had started somewhere outside Snowfield, and several teams were already collecting data.

"We've intercepted the signal on our end." Commander James's voice came through the car speakers.

August switched on the dashboard display. The screen showed a satellite feed of empty land outside the city.

Gilgamesh and Enkidu had met!!

As soon as the two Servants met in battle, the whole area felt different.

"Wow! So this is what Heroic Spirits from this world can do?" Hestia leaned closer to the screen, her eyes lighting up. "NOT BAD!"

Watching them in an anime was one thing, but seeing the real fight live on a satellite feed was completely different.

"Should we go watch in person?" Hestia asked eagerly. She was already itching to head over.

"Of course. How could we miss something like this?" August stepped harder on the accelerator.

This was the reason he had summoned a Heroic Spirit in the first place.

The thought made August look at Olga Marie, who had stayed dematerialized since they left the factory.

"Although..." He paused for a moment. "Forget it. Fighting Heroic Spirits will be a good experience for me anyway."

He wanted to find out what the famous golden king could actually do, and whether Gilgamesh's reputation was because of his weapons or his own skill.

"I can fight too."

Olga Marie Animusphere emerged from spirit form and appeared in the back seat beside Lili.

She could see that August just wanted a good fight. There was no plan, no secret goal, and no big ambition. He had summoned a Heroic Spirit simply because he wanted someone to battle. As his Caster, Olga Marie felt she should show she was useful.

"Um..."

August still talked to her politely but kept his distance. Olga Marie understood. She knew her first impression hadn't been great, and he already knew her true nature.

"Just call me Marie."

Olga Marie thought about the game on August's phone. There were a few female Servants named Marie, including a well-known queen. Using that name would help her get closer to him.

"Then—"

"CALL ME MARIE." She glared at him.

Just because he liked Hestia didn't mean he could act clueless. He obviously knew how to talk to women. Why couldn't he say one name right?

"Marie..." August gave in.

Olga Marie's face quickly went back to normal, but her lips gave her away.

"She smiled!" Hestia said.

"She definitely smiled!" Lili agreed.

Both of them saw it clearly.

"..." Olga Marie acted like she hadn't heard them.

"As a Servant, I should perform the duties expected of me," she continued with an aloof expression. "I may have been summoned as a Caster, but that doesn't mean I'm incapable of protecting you."

Even with a real Goddess in the passenger seat, Olga Marie's fighting skills put her near the top of all the Servants summoned in Snowfield.

"Alright. I'll leave it to you then." August considered it and chose not to argue. Olga Marie could decide for herself how she wanted to fight.

After a short pause, another question popped into his head.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Go ahead."

"You said you were recorded in the Throne of Heroes because of me." August glanced at her through the rearview mirror. "What exactly does that mean??"

He remembered U-Olga Marie saying something like that after she was summoned, but he still didn't fully understand what it meant.

"It means exactly what I said." Olga Marie's expression remained calm. "You can be Ritsuka Fujimaru, but Ritsuka Fujimaru is not you. In modern terms, you are the player. My existence was born from your memories, or more accurately, from the memories created by the people of your world."

She looked him in the eye through the mirror.

"I may carry the identity and setting of a Beast from this World, but my real identity is Caster, Olga Marie Animusphere, the Heroic Spirit who exists to assist you."

A smile appeared on her face.

"Long time no see, Master." Then she added another word. "Player."

August looked at her in surprise.

Olga Marie wasn't the same Beast that had first belonged to this world. The Olga Marie here was shaped by the memories brought into this universe by the people August had brought from Earth—the memories of countless players who knew her story. Her bond with August started the moment he opened the path between worlds. Those hidden thoughts and memories followed the travelers through the gate, giving her form and recording her in the Throne of Heroes.

August could play the role of Ritsuka Fujimaru because he had lived the story as a player. But Ritsuka Fujimaru could never become August.

The Olga Marie in front of him was unique. At the same time, she held every possible future that Olga Marie Animusphere might one day reach.

August fell silent.

He had expected some secret plan or complicated scheme. He never thought her whole existence would be tied to him.

Olga Marie saw his expression shift and felt quietly pleased.

Good... this was the right way to win her Master's heart. Once she had August, he would be hers. No one else could take him away, not even the Goddess in the passenger seat.

'Oh? She knows how to play this game.' Hestia watched Olga Marie out of the corner of her eye. 'A Heroic Spirit who exists because of August? That's new...'

From what Hestia knew, Heroic Spirits rested in the Throne of Heroes. They slept, dreamed, and spent eternity however they liked. That was meant to be their final home. But August's arrival had somehow turned memories from fiction into real souls and placed them in the Throne.

Even Hestia hadn't expected his memories to change this world so fast.

"Can I ask one more thing?" August said.

Olga Marie nodded.

"If you were made from my memories, doesn't being recorded in the Throne make you unhappy?" He frowned a little. "If I remember right, the Throne is..."

August stopped.

If Olga Marie was only recorded because of him, didn't that mean he was partly to blame for trapping her there?

He remembered something else too. In Fate/Grand Order, most characters lived in the story with Ritsuka Fujimaru. But some events suggested that Servants knew about another existence beyond Ritsuka—the players watching and controlling things from above. Some Servants had even thanked the players directly.

They knew the players were real. But the players had never actually entered their world.

August's arrival changed that. For the first time, Heroic Spirits tied to the players themselves started to appear.

"NO." Olga Marie answered without hesitation. "None of us would be here without you. If the opportunity appeared—every one of us would leave the Throne and come looking for you before anyone else."

She spoke like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"If you think I'm lying, summon another one. With your Command Spells and current mana reserves, you can summon five more Heroic Spirits—"

"Five more?" August blinked.

"They are Heroic Spirits who never existed in this World." Olga Marie's expression softened. "They exist only for you, and for the players of your world."

Then her eyes sharpened.

"But you will not be summoning them."

"Why not?"

"If those five came down, their shamelessness would become your problem."

Olga Marie's eyes flashed with danger.

Those women would tear August apart.

"Then forget it..." August gave up right away. If calling the other five meant more trouble, he saw no reason to hurry.

But who were those five Heroic Spirits?

Only the five women secretly watching through Olga Marie's eyes knew the answer.

—•——•——•——•——•——•—

The Throne of Heroes

Five Heroic Spirits had watched the entire conversation through Olga Marie's senses.

"DAMN YOU!"

"SHOULD WE BURN HER?"

"LET'S BURN HER!!"

"SHE'S FAR TOO SELFISH!!"

Weapons began to slide from their sheaths as the five women prepared to deal with the traitor who had stolen their place.

"No, no! Stop! She's still a good child!"

Larva/Tiamat hurried between them and tried to prevent the fight.

The five Heroic Spirits were:

Jeanne d'Arc Alter.

Larva/Tiamat.

Space Ishtar.

Space Ereshkigal.

Marie Alter.

All five existed because of August's memories. They were completely different from the versions already recorded in this World's Throne. Born from the strongest emotions, attachments, and desires inside August and his people, they could eventually enter the world below on their own if given enough time.

Larva/Tiamat was the clearest example.

The original Tiamat had been cast out from the World. Even in Chaldea's records, her later appearances were more like reflections of previous energy than a true Heroic Spirit on the Throne.

Normally, someone abandoned like her shouldn't have been able to enter the Throne of Heroes.

But when August brought Earth's people into this universe, their memories started making those impossible beings real. Their True Names showed up in the Throne.

All five women were different from their original selves.

Or maybe it was more accurate to say...

They only existed because August did.

Jeanne Alter and Marie Alter were easier to explain. Both were impossible, twisted versions that shouldn't have existed naturally, not even as real parts of their originals.

Larva/Tiamat was the true record of Tiamat on the Throne, though she had stayed quiet and acted like a native Heroic Spirit.

Space Ishtar and Space Ereshkigal were Goddesses and Beasts from the Servant Universe, beings who should have stayed separate from Proper Human History.

August already despised Ishtar, knew the legends surrounding her, and clearly cared for Ereshkigal. That was all they needed. Both sisters had now been registered.

Now, all they needed was for August to start the summoning ritual again. They wouldn't need to possess anyone or use a human vessel. They could come down as Servants themselves.

That was the real reason they existed.

Unfortunately, the Beast who slipped through first was already at August's side, and now she was trying to keep the other five from following. If they missed this chance, there was no telling how long they'd have to wait for another.

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"How is it going?" Jeanne Alter asked.

The others looked at Larva/Tiamat. The Mother Goddess had been busy with something since the conversation started.

At first, the women had been puzzled by their affection for August and by the fact that none of them disliked him. After Olga Marie's explanation, they finally understood where those feelings and their own existences had come from.

None of the five intended to sit quietly and wait for that to happen.

They didn't have bodies in the Lower World, so they needed a way out of the Throne. Olga Marie had already found a way, but it was clear she wasn't going to help anyone else.

That left Larva/Tiamat. Of the five, she was the only one strong enough to force a path open.

"Leave it to me."

Larva/Tiamat gave a serious nod.

"I can feel another summoning ritual beginning below."

She pushed one of the screens aside and showed a new image.

"Oh, that's Goldie's summoning ritual."

"The key..." Space Ishtar recognized the catalyst at a glance.

"So that nuisance from human mythology is about to descend."

The ritual was meant for Gilgamesh. More importantly, the key linked to the Gate of Babylon had already opened a path between the Throne and the Lower World.

Everyone understood Larva/Tiamat's plan. They would use that passage to escape together.

"But won't we be discovered?" Space Ereshkigal asked nervously. "If the others realize our true bodies are trying to descend..."

Their identities made them different from the regular Heroic Spirits around them. They were real beings born from memories of another universe. August saw their appearance as normal, but that didn't mean they could stay hidden forever. Leaving the Throne would attract attention, and if things went wrong, the other Heroic Spirits might find out who they really were.

"What are you scared of?"

Jeanne Alter folded her arms and took charge, like a tough leader rallying her group.

"If you're too scared, don't play. But if you're playing, don't chicken out. Are you planning to stay here forever?"

She pointed toward the world below.

"What, am I supposed to let some ball of spiritual energy go down there for me, wait for it to come back, and then take its memories? That's ridiculous. Am I supposed to get NTR'd by my own Servant copy?"

Jeanne Alter snorted.

"If I'm going, I'm going down there myself. And don't forget, that otherworldly Goddess is already with him. If we keep waiting, there won't be any future left for us to fight for."

Her words were harsh, but they worked.

"Mm-hmm. She's right," Marie Alter agreed. "I would've gone down and stolen him already if I were strong enough."

Of the six linked to August, she was the weakest. There was nothing she could do about it. She was the Marie Alter who lived in August's heart, not the Marie Antoinette recorded in this World's Throne. If she had enough power, she would have escaped long ago.

"Yes. We either do this together or not at all."

Space Ereshkigal nodded, looking more determined. She glanced at the favorability screen floating next to her.

August's affection toward her had reached sixty percent.

His affection toward Hestia was ninety-nine percent.

The difference was harsh.

"Let's get to work." Larva/Tiamat clapped her hands.

The five women gathered around the opening and began preparing their escape.

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