"What is this?"
Olga Marie muttered as she stared at the report she had received from Romani.
Her voice was a mix of disbelief, admiration, fear, and shock. Romani, who had handed over the report, wore a similar expression of exhaustion and dismay.
But more than anything else, the first thing that came to mind was pity for the man currently asleep. Olga Marie placed the report on the desk and let out a heavy sigh she could no longer contain.
There were still many Singularities left. As the only man capable of both Rayshifting and acting as a Master, Loop would have to plunge into those Singularities whether he liked it or not. Furthermore, if left alone, the situation in those Singularities would only worsen, eventually spreading like a fire that could no longer be extinguished.
In that sense, the difficulty was extreme, and there was a ticking time limit. Therefore, Chaldea had no choice but to push him into the Singularities, regardless of their feelings.
However, the report before her eyes stung Olga Marie's 'humanity.'
[Left eye destroyed; recovery attempts ongoing.]
[Abnormalities in nerves of both arms; artificial nerve grafting attempted.]
[Amputation of the right leg.]
[Confirmed skin necrosis on all fingers and toes.]
[Transverse fractures in seven ribs, comminuted fractures in two.]
[Hypothermia due to blood loss; organ dysfunction detected.]
[Confirmed deep laceration from the shoulder.]
[Two molars dislodged, one shattered.]
[Confirmed oblique fracture of the cheekbone.]
[Numerous other fractures confirmed.]
[Possibility of life force consumption due to Mana depletion. Potential abnormalities in the brain and lifespan.]
Olga Marie looked up, her head beginning to throb. ...Was this even a human body? The fact that there was still more to the report even after reading this much made her breath hitch.
What she was reading wasn't the status of a hero from a story. She wasn't looking at the body of an immortal. Even for a Servant, injuries of this magnitude would have warranted considering their dismissal from the world.
And yet, this was the state of a man who had never experienced combat, war, or slaughter in his life. Furthermore, this was merely a summary of his physical condition.
It was written in a clinical tone, ignoring his agony. It didn't record his mental suffering alongside the physical pain. Even if they wanted to know, they couldn't, as he was currently hovering between life and death.
She turned her head to look at Romani. He looked so pained he seemed on the verge of death himself. A man who still looked like a young boy had just returned from hell.
Worse, from Chaldea's perspective, they had to keep sending Loop back into that hell in the name of the 'Greater Good.' Romani's face showed how much that reality saddened and tormented him.
"...How is he?"
"He hasn't opened his eyes yet. It's already been a week since he returned... Three days ago, he suddenly developed a high fever, and we don't know if he'll make it. We've taken every measure Chaldea can provide, so it might sound irresponsible, but... all that's left is to rely on his will to live and his luck."
"..."
Normally, Olga Marie might have shouted, 'What do you mean by that?! Save him this instant!'
But the reason such thoughts didn't occur was that she had been there when Loop returned from Fuyuki. His body, which had collapsed onto the floor upon return, was already as cold as a corpse.
Unlike seeing it through a flat screen, seeing his wounds with her own two eyes made her realize just how much he had been using his own body like a disposable tool.
He fought Lancer, he fought Rider, he fought Berserker, and he fought Saber. Even as his heart was breaking under the weight of consecutive battles, he fought to the very end.
He never gave up on the challenge, and in the worst possible situation, he overturned everything through sheer persistence and grit alone. Even the masterminds who had incinerated the Human Order must have been bewildered.
The fact that a magecraft user who didn't even rank as third-rate had conquered a Singularity with only two Servants—one of whom was an Assassin without proper combat skills—was nothing short of a miracle.
"What about Leonardo da Vinci?"
"...She's by Loop's side. She was furious after seeing his condition."
Of course she was.
The only proper Heroic Spirits currently in Chaldea were Caster and Leonardo da Vinci.
During the Fuyuki incident, Da Vinci had been too busy restoring the shattered Chaldea to provide help.
Even regardless of that, the trip to Fuyuki was an accidental incident, so they couldn't have sent Da Vinci there anyway.
Thus, Da Vinci hadn't known how Loop fought in Fuyuki. After receiving and reviewing the data from Romani, she had provided the rare sight of the great Da Vinci breaking into a cold sweat.
Da Vinci herself had said: if an ordinary person risks their life to achieve a feat difficult even for a genius, then a genius must bring about an even greater miracle.
That was why Da Vinci vowed she would never let him die.
Since there was nothing more she could do for his immediate survival, she was likely busy preparing artificial nerves and prosthetics for when he eventually woke up.
"Da Vinci-chan... Leonardo da Vinci seems to believe he will open his eyes. She said a man who conquered a Singularity with an ordinary body wouldn't die like this."
"She's optimistic. But she's not a Servant who speaks nonsense. I... I want to believe he'll wake up too. ...Fine. What about the next Singularity?"
"None have been detected yet. The staff are doing their best to search for the next one. Though searching is meaningless if he doesn't wake up."
"Keep searching anyway. ...Sigh."
"...Why don't you get some sleep? It's been a week since he returned, and you haven't slept once, have you?"
"The same goes for you. Both you and that idiot... Usually, you live without any passion for work, but once things get serious, you both become so earnest. You might be surprisingly similar."
In fact, Loop was close with Romani. Their personalities seemed similar, and they had gotten along well since Loop first joined.
They often joked with each other, and it was a daily routine in Chaldea for Romani to defend Loop whenever Olga Marie complained about him.
Those two, whom she had deemed unreliable, were now playing major roles. In contrast, the person Olga Marie had trusted had become a traitor to the Human Order, seeking to end it all.
...Lev's image still flashed through Olga Marie's mind. He had an uncharacteristically alien atmosphere about him.
No, that was wrong. It wasn't that his atmosphere was alien. Everything he had shown Olga Marie at Chaldea had been the lie.
That violent, elitist persona was Lev's true self.
Olga Marie spoke, fighting back her drowsiness.
"I'm fine. Compared to the pain he went through in Fuyuki, missing a little sleep is nothing."
"Loop will be worried when he wakes up and sees the Director's face. I'm saying this now, but no one in this organization worried about the Director as much as he did."
In the past, she would have scolded him, asking what kind of nonsense he was talking about.
Back then, Lev was still there, and in Olga Marie's eyes, Rudolf Hawkeye—Loop—was just a salary thief with a slightly peculiar name.
But now, she couldn't deny it. She thought Lev cherished her, but that was just a delusion Olga Marie had created for herself because she was cornered.
Looking back now, Loop had often told Olga Marie to rest and asked if she was eating properly.
Once, Olga Marie had been so exhausted she passed out and missed a meeting. At that time, Loop was supposed to wake her up, but he didn't.
She had demanded to know what he was thinking back then, but at the time, her expression had been so haggard that even other people were worried enough to suggest she take a break.
...She couldn't find a word to refute Romani. Thinking about it now, he had been very considerate. All she had given him in return were shouts and nagging.
...If he really woke up, she felt like she could at least make him a single meal.
"Fine, I'll sleep. Just let me check his condition one more time. ...He'll be okay, right?"
"It's true that if his fever doesn't break by today, it'll be dangerous."
Maintaining a high fever for three days was fatal to a human body.
It wasn't just a slightly elevated temperature; he was consistently over 39 degrees Celsius. It wouldn't be strange if his cells were burning up.
He was barely clinging to life, but the fever had to break soon.
She trusted Da Vinci's words that he would surely wake up, but she couldn't help but worry. The man who conquered Fuyuki must not die here.
He deserved to be celebrated, applauded, and treated accordingly. If he were to conquer all the Singularities and resolve this situation...
No, if that happened, instead of being called a hero, the Clock Tower might find some strange excuse to target him. She had to think about that as well.
If he was unlucky, they might try to preserve him as a specimen.
Once everything was over in the future, he had to live happily and peacefully.
"Tada!! Da Vinci-chan is here for the two of you who look like you're about to drop dead!"
"Leonardo da Vinci... Your presence here means there's been a change in him, right?"
The woman who appeared through the door... Olga Marie was still a bit doubtful if she was truly a woman, but she decided to accept it for now.
Regardless, she was Leonardo da Vinci, a Heroic Spirit summoned by Chaldea.
Currently, she was the only Heroic Spirit existing as a Servant. Mash, being a Demi-Servant, hadn't awakened yet.
In any case, Da Vinci's arrival carried a special meaning. Da Vinci chuckled and spoke.
"I told you, didn't I? That he would wake up... He's opened his eyes. He still has a fever, but it's gone down quite a bit. Want to go see him?"
"...Yes, I'll go see him."
She was curious about what the man who conquered the Singularity was thinking right now.
**
When I slowly opened my eyes, I was floating in the air.
...Huh? What is this? I existed in a pure white space. Would it be better to call it a place where nothing exists? Either way, I couldn't tell what was going on.
I fiddled with my hair and checked my situation. If my memory was correct, I had conquered Fuyuki.
Lancer, Rider, Archer, Berserker, and even Saber—I had defeated them all and completed the restoration of the Singularity. Then I met that bat-bastard, and after that, I don't remember.
Did I pass out? Or did I die? No, even if I died, I would just loop back. Then is this a dream? Should I call it a lucid dream?
I wasn't sure, but as I drifted along, I felt a presence behind me.
"You are..."
"Welcome. Now then... You must be curious about my name, right? Curious about this situation too? That's—Guh!!"
Before I knew it, I had rushed forward and delivered a powerful punch to his gut. This crazy flower-bastard.
He had pure white hair and an aura that was literally radiant. He had a human form, but this man who was clearly not human doubled over after the sudden blow. Gravity seemed to kick in suddenly, along with the concept of a floor.
I knew the name of the man I had just floored. I knew it even without an explanation.
He was someone with a very deep connection to the Saber I had fought in Fuyuki.
Merlin, the Magus of Flowers.
He was a mentor figure to the King of Knights, Artoria Pendragon.
"Throwing a punch to the gut the moment we meet! That's too much! I don't remember raising you to be such a violent child!"
"I don't remember being raised by you!! You didn't do a damn thing while I was crawling through the dirt in Fuyuki, consulting with the Grim Reaper multiple times! How can you show up now with such a smug face?!"
"A-Ahahaha... Well, I was watching everything. But you managed to conquer it anyway, so no harm done, right?"
This son of a...?
I exhaled sharply, barely managing to calm myself down. Let's stay calm. Merlin was the one who had reached out to me. This was likely a dream, and he was speaking to me within it.
Crackle. The edges of the white space were slightly cracked. You bastard, if you're going to make a space, make it properly. Do you think I'm not even worth being hosted in a decent place?
This hooligan... You treated the original Fujimaru reasonably well, so why am I getting this treatment?
"Now, sit down for a moment. Let's start our talk... Yes, for example, shall we talk about that broken clock you possess, which could be a blessing or a curse?"
"..."
He knew.
And yet, despite knowing, he had the gall to say there was 'no harm done' because I conquered it? If he was watching, he probably knew exactly how many times I had died.
And yet, 'no harm done' because I succeeded? Really? No harm?
However, I needed to hear what he had to say, so I sat down. This guy knew about my situation.
I doubted he knew about the 'original story' or meta-narrative stuff, but he definitely knew about my power to rewind time upon death.
I had to learn more about it. I needed to know the details so I could use this power with at least some peace of mind in the future. ...To be honest, I wasn't sure if I was using it or being used by it.
Every time I died, it felt like my mind was being shredded. If Caster hadn't been there, I would have broken down completely once already.
There was no guarantee I would remain sane as I moved through the future Singularities.
"First of all, congratulations on conquering Fuyuki. ...Yes, I did want to help you, but I couldn't. That Fuyuki had to be conquered by your own strength. But I was surprised. To think you'd use the rules of the Holy Grail War to summon an extra Servant. You seized the Grail from Artoria and were ultimately victorious. I think it's magnificent."
"I'm sure watching the fire from across the river was very entertaining for you."
"Don't be so sharp. Well... I'm not entirely uninvolved in that power of yours. Indirectly, at least. I can't tell you much. It's a matter of rules, ideology, and a sort of binding. What I can tell you is that there are no particular restrictions on that power. No matter how many times you die, that power won't run out. If I had to name a weakness, it's that while it rewinds your body's time, it doesn't rewind your mind. By returning, your body's wounds will be undone. But your shredded mind will not. If you collapse completely, that power will become utterly useless."
"...Are you saying you can't tell me who gave me this power?"
"Yes. And you can't speak of it either."
"What?"
"You should be aware of it. How many times did you try to speak about that power? I'm the one who actually blocked it."
If you could interfere to that extent, you should have helped me out a bit.
...Every time I tried to talk about this power, I would suddenly start coughing, and it felt like all the moisture in my throat had vanished, preventing me from continuing.
The first time, I thought it was just a coincidence, but by the second time, I began to wonder. By the third time, I was certain.
Merlin pointed to his heart and spoke.
"If you speak of it, you will die and loop back. I won't stop you if you have a hobby for dying, though."
"..."
"All the pain is yours to bear, and the greater your pain, the more you will feel alienated from those around you. This time, those around you supported you, but someday, you might be scolded. They might ask why you're acting like that when nothing has happened, tell you to stand up, or someone might even criticize you for being in despair."
When I broke down in Fuyuki, I almost wished they would.
I was so cornered that I'd rather have been blamed. I felt like I would completely crumble from even a small shock.
I almost wanted my heart to shatter like that.
Then I wouldn't have to feel anything, and I wouldn't have to do anything. But the people around me took my hand, pushed my back, and forced me to stand up.
Very kindly. But next time, they might criticize me just as I imagined.
...Will I be able to endure it then? The fact that I could even imagine myself completely breaking down gave me goosebumps.
A bitter smile escaped me as I clutched my head and spoke.
"Why give this to me... It would have been better to give it to someone else. Or do I look like a hero who can save the Human Order to you?"
"In terms of aptitude for a hero, you are, of course, a failure. However, you were chosen, and you're the only one who can do it. Even if the end of this story is a tragedy, it's a path someone must walk. Only you can do it. It's a task only you can perform. ...So, I have only one request for you. Please, do not break. Regrettably, I won't be able to help you in the future either. I can meet you in dreams like this a few times and tell you what I can, but even that won't always go as I wish."
"...Fine. I don't really get it, but it means you're not free either, right? All I need to know is that this damn ability is useless to talk about because I'll just die and loop back. I've got that much. First, let me ask: I'm not dead, right?"
"You're alive... Yes. The road ahead will be painful, so let me give you some good advice."
"Why? Are you going to train me in this dream?"
Crackle. The cracks in the white space were growing more severe. It felt like an alarm clock.
It seemed to be saying it was almost time to wake up. Merlin spoke to me with a somewhat troubled expression.
"I'd like to, but there's no time. ...That Transmutation Magecraft you use—polish it to the absolute limit. Then, one day, it will see the light. You might even be able to use a Reality Marble."
"What?! A R-Reality Marble? There's no way I can use that. I'm a magecraft user who doesn't even rank as third-rate. I don't have much mana, and my circuits aren't special. And if you're asking about my history as a magus, the story ends at the fact that my old man was only second-generation. In the first place, if I used a Reality Marble at this age, I might be preserved alive by the Clock Tower. It's that big of a deal; it's impossible. Or are you going to enhance my magecraft for me?"
Merlin smiled leisurely at my words. He looked troubled one moment and busy the next.
Come to think of it, I heard this guy's expressions are just him imitating others, and in reality, he's always expressionless, right?
Merlin answered my disbelief and questions.
"You should know... A man who can use a Reality Marble despite being a sub-third-rate magecraft user capable of only a single spell. You should know him, shouldn't you?"
"...You, just how much do you know? Don't tell me you're the one who made me regain my memories..."
Static. For some reason, noise began to fill the air as the surroundings crumbled. Merlin slowly stood up.
Damn it, my consciousness is fading. Are you running away?! Look at this guy bolting the moment I ask a difficult question!
Hey, seriously! Is this why you get beaten up?! Do you know?! I stumbled, trying to hold onto my vanishing consciousness, but it disappeared fruitlessly.
The white space collapsed, and the area was dyed black.
"I hope we can see each other again."
If we see each other again, I'm going to kick your head off, you okay with that...!!
Tududun... Along with a sound, I opened my eyes again. It felt strange to open my eyes when I was already sure I had them open.
My body felt sluggish and weird. It seemed there weren't many parts of my body I could move. Bandages and various other things were binding me.
Is this treatment or a restraint? I felt more imprisoned than hospitalized. I felt like a high-profile criminal in solitary confinement. I blankly moved my one remaining eye to scan the surroundings.
Chaldea? ...Fortunately, it seemed I had returned from Fuyuki.
If I had died and woken up in Fuyuki again, I would have screamed and died once more.
I was done with meeting Saber.
The King of Knights had instilled such trauma and terror in me that my very soul seemed to tremble at the mere thought of her.
"Loop!"
The Doctor was beside me with a dazed expression.
...Based on the atmosphere, it felt like I had been unconscious for days in the name of 'deep sleep.' I couldn't tell how much time had passed here.
Has the next Singularity been found?
Can I move my body?
Honestly, nothing is scarier to me right now than Saber.
Even if the King of Heroes or an even scarier monster appeared before me, or if I saw a Noble Phantasm with more firepower than Excalibur, I felt like I'd be fine.
...I say that, but I'd probably start shivering again if I actually saw them. There's a reason Charlotte and I were called the Chicken Duo by Caster-hyung.
I'm a bigger coward than you'd imagine.
"You're awake."
The Director entered next.
...She looked exhausted. She had the face of someone who hadn't slept for days. As expected, it seemed several days had passed.
Three days? Four? Surely it hasn't been more than five?
This is troublesome. If I'm unconscious for too long and the conquest of the Singularities is delayed, it'll end in a time-out. If I've passed the Prologue, shouldn't I at least make it to the Epilogue?
By the way, the Epilogue I'm talking about is that scene where the mastermind is defeated and I'm standing with Mash in a restored world.
Mash isn't by my side, but shouldn't I at least aim for a similar scene?
"Do you know who I am?"
"...Honey."
The Director, who had been seriously worrying about me, instantly turned stone-faced.
"Seeing as your mouth is still working, you're normal."
Hey, play along a little.
The Director let out a sigh, lightly tapping my cheek as if in disbelief.
She really looks like she hasn't slept. I tell her to sleep every time, but she never listens.
Sleep is the most important thing for a human. The sharpness of thought between someone who slept eight hours and someone who slept three is entirely different. The same goes for meals.
A sound mind in a sound body, was it? At the very least, you have to eat and sleep well to be in a state fit for conquering Singularities.
Da Vinci-chan blankly walked in from behind.
"Congratulations on your survival. ...You did well. I didn't think you'd actually pull it off to this extent. Do you have anything you're curious about for Da Vinci-chan?"
Curious about... Curious about... I thought for a moment and then spoke.
"Can I... still fight?"
"..."
If not me, then who?
That lazy but capable Merlin said himself that there's no one else but me.
And the Director also said no one else has both Master and Rayshift aptitude. In my heart, I wished someone else would do it.
If I could leave it to Team A, who were blown away in a single explosion, I'd leave it all to them.
But the reality is that I can't, and I'm the only one who can restore these damn Singularities. Then shouldn't I be the one to do it?
What I said while drawing aggro from Saber was half-serious. I wanted to greet the future with a smile. And if the end comes, I want to finish it peacefully.
Finally, that damn mastermind cannot be allowed to take that dream away from me as he pleases.
Countless dreams, countless goals, and countless lives must never be ended by a single person's yardstick.
Hearing my words, Da Vinci-chan stood blankly for a moment before eventually smiling faintly and speaking.
"Yes, you can fight. I, Da Vinci-chan, will make sure you can. I'll make your leg, and I'll even manufacture artificial nerves for your arms. I'll restore your eye if possible. If not, we'll have to use a prosthetic. No need to worry! Leave it to this super-genius. You can just rest easy with your legs stretched out."
"I'm missing one leg, though."
I do regret it being cut off a little...
Like hell I do. If I hadn't cut it, I would have been killed by Saber. The image of Saber grabbing my leg still comes to mind.
That's definitely going to be in my dreams. Even after restoring all the Singularities, I feel like it'll pop up occasionally. I felt like the nights of being unable to sleep properly out of fear would continue.
Certainly, the King of Knights is a powerful Servant, and if she appeared, I'd be in a position to immediately prostrate myself, but...
I'm sorry. I don't want to meet her as an ally or an enemy.
But isn't the 6th Chapter there? It's not her, but her shell appears. Come to think of it, she appears in the 4th Chapter too, right?
Oh, Counter Force preserve me.
"First, let's do a psychological consultation. I'll prepare a questionnaire, so you'd better fill it out."
"Treating a person like a patien... Well, I am a patient, but anyway, I'm fine."
"...You shouldn't ignore mental pain. Mental pain doesn't always show on the surface, and even if it's there, there's no guarantee you'll be aware of it. Listen to me."
The Doctor spoke like a proper physician, not his usual pushover self.
"The Doctor is talking like an adult."
"I am an adult! At least compared to you!"
He seemed relatively serious. Hmm, I'm really fine, though. He seemed to have a lot of worries.
Well, he had plenty of worries before this too, so it can't be helped. But how do you do a psychological consultation?
I remember there was something about detecting brain waves in the Chaldea system...
Surprisingly, as a place where magecraft and science overlap, this Chaldea boasts quite high technology.
It could truly be called the convergence of magecraft and science. The Director suddenly approached and spoke.
"Tell me if you need anything. As I said before, we're planning to throw you into the hell called a Singularity. If it's not impossible, I'll grant your requests."
"...Right. First..."
I looked at the Director and said,
"Give me food."
Chomp chomp. Give me food... I'm hungry.
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