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Lev Lainur. He had once been the head of the Research Division of the Archaeology Department in the old Clock Tower’s Department 11, and until just yesterday he was the mage who had created the Near-Future Observation Lens Sheba at the Human Order Continuity Guarantee Organization, Phoenix Chaldea. And the one appearing now was Lev Lainur Flauros. Yes. He was the final agent sent by the Mage King Solomon in 2015, and a Demon Pillar. Well... I already knew that from the game, too.
He looked back and forth between me and Ritsuka, then began speaking while clapping his hands.
"Juhwan-kun. Ritsuka-kun. I let you two go out of goodwill, only to make the mistake of thinking you were truly hopeless."
His sudden appearance left Director Olga and Romani staring at his unsmiling face in confusion before they blurted out,
"Professor Lev!?"
-Lev!? Professor Lev!? You’re there!?</p>
Professor Lev—no, Lev Lainur—looked at Romani with an expression that seemed both amused and disgusted, and began sharply rebuking him for not listening to him.
"Hm? That voice... Romani-kun, was it...? So you managed to survive too. I told you to come to the control room immediately, and yet you ignored my orders... truly..."
He slammed the cane he was holding against the ground once, then twisted his face in open irritation and started insulting us.
"Every last one of you is a pile of trash that won’t follow orders worth a damn. It’s making me sick."
Whether she hadn’t heard a word he said, or whether her blinders were already set too deep to remove, I couldn’t tell—but Director Olga ran toward Lev as though they were having an emotional reunion, tears of joy streaming down her face.
"Lev... ahh, Lev, Lev, you were alive! Lev! Thank goodness... If you were gone, I wouldn’t have known how to protect Chaldea after this!"
I reached out toward her and shouted for her to stop.
"Director! Don’t! That man is...!"
But she didn’t seem to hear me at all. She kept running toward him, and Lev Lainur, who had silently watched her approach, soon smiled and began confessing what he had done to her.
"Yes... of course. This is all so far beyond expectations that it’s giving me a headache. To think... Olga. I planted explosives beneath your feet, and yet you survived..."
As if she had just heard something she was never meant to hear, Director Olga stopped mid-run and looked up at him, then asked again as though confirming what he had said.
"Lev...? W-wait, what are you talking about?"
Seeing her like that, Lev looked even more incredulous and sneered at her as though mocking her, continuing on.
"No, saying you survived is wrong. You’re already dead. Your body, especially. Think about it. You didn’t have the aptitude for [Ray Shift] in life, did you? You can’t transfer while still in a physical body."
After saying that, he smiled gently again, only to cut her down even further.
"And I’m sorry to say, but you can’t go back to Chaldea. The moment you return to Chaldea, that pathetic consciousness of yours will vanish."
In truth, because the bomb had exploded directly beneath Director Olga, her body should already have been reduced to dust. Unable to accept that unbelievable reality, she looked up at Lev with a despairing expression and murmured,
"I... disappear...? Me...? W-wait... I can’t go back to Chaldea?"
For Director Olga, who still couldn’t accept the reality she was facing, he struck the ground with his cane once more. Immediately, the scorched Chaldeas began to appear in this Singularity. Then he smiled again and told her,
"Now, watch closely, descendant of Animusphere. This is the end of your foolish choices. And I’ll give you one gift."
The moment Lev Lainur finished speaking, her body began to rise into the air as if she had been struck by a spell, and soon her flesh—more precisely, her remaining consciousness—began to be drawn toward Chaldeas.
She struggled desperately, but nothing changed, and tears began to well in her eyes.
"Wh-what is... this...? Lev... I’m scared... S-stop... Please. Even so, that’s Chaldeas, isn’t it? A high-density information body, right?"
But no matter what she said, nothing would change. Not unless I was there...
"Ugh... ngh... no... no, I don’t want this, I don’t want this, help me, somebody help me! I, I don’t want to die in a place like this!! I haven’t even been praised yet...! No one has ever recognized me...!!"
The moment she was about to be pulled even closer to Chaldeas, I began sending a telepathic message to Tonelico and Emiya.
-Emiya, Tonelico, can you hear me?
-Master?
-What is it?
When I sent the message, Tonelico and Emiya both looked toward me, and I began explaining my plan to them.
-First, I want to save the Director. Dying here would be pretty bad, right? So I have a favor to ask. First, Tonelico, use the water mirror to cut off Lev Lainur’s head in one stroke. Second, Emiya, I want you to catch the Director as she falls. Can you do that...?
After hearing my telepathic message, the two of them thought for a moment, then nodded and sent their reply back to me.
-Yes, understood, Master!
-Understood, Master.
Now, the important thing was timing. While his attention was fixed on Director Olga, we had to rescue her in an instant. Judging that the time had come, I immediately sent the signal to the two of them.
-Now!
As soon as I sent the message, Tonelico used the water mirror to move behind him. Realizing she had disappeared, Lev Lainur turned his head to look for her, but by then it was already too late.
"It’s already too late. Accept your death quietly, Lev Lainur."
"You bitch...!"
Slash.
Shwoosh...
The moment she cut his neck with her greatsword, blood burst from the severed wound like a fountain.
'Wow... she cut that cleanly...'
As his head fell, the spell on her must have broken, because she stopped floating in midair and dropped toward the ground. Emiya leaped in an instant, caught Director Olga, and landed safely, confirming that she was unharmed.
"Are you all right, Director?"
Now certain she was safe, the Director hugged him and, tears still falling, thanked him.
"Th-thank you... really... thank you..."
"Don’t thank me. Thank my Master."
Then I immediately ordered Tonelico to return, and she transferred back to my side through the water mirror at once. Once everyone realized the matter had been settled, they all came over to me. I called Tonelico and Romani over right away.
"Tonelico! Romani!"
"Yes, Master?"
-W... why!? Juhwan-kun?
First, I began explaining my plan to them. I told them that we would send Tonelico, Ritsuka, and Mash safely back to Chaldea, then create the Director’s body there using the Holy Grail, and finally have the Director and me return to Chaldea. That was the plan I explained to them. After listening quietly, she nodded and said to me,
"So that’s what we should do, Master?"
"Yeah, do that."
Romani, who had likewise heard my explanation and agonized over it like mad, finally seemed to make up his mind and immediately relayed the plan to me, Director Olga, and everyone except Cu Chulainn.
-Uh... okay, got it!! Then I’ll start [Ray Shift] for everyone except the Director, Juhwan-kun, and Cu Chulainn!!
"Master, see you later!"
"Juhwan, be careful!!"
"Senior Juhwan, please be careful. I’ll do this as quickly as I can!!"
With those words, the transfer was safely completed in order: Tonelico, holding the Holy Grail, then Ritsuka, Mash, and Emiya. That left just the three of us here.
Whoosh...
"Sorry, but this is as far as I go."
"I see. Take care on your way back, Cu Chulainn."
When I said my farewell to him, he patted my head and then grinned as he continued.
"I liked you! A man’s job is to protect women, after all~. You’re impressive! Anyway, when you get back later, summon me again. Next time, make me a Lancer!!"
"Yeah. Go back safely, Cu Chulainn."
Even Cu Chulainn turned into golden particles and returned to the Throne of Heroes, leaving only the two of us behind in the Singularity. The Director was still restless and anxious, so I hugged her tightly and began to calm her down.
"Director. Don’t worry so much. Calm down for now. Once your body is complete, Romani will contact us."
If she had been her usual self, she would have blown up at me for doing something like that, but right now she quietly accepted my embrace. Perhaps she had calmed down a little; she wiped away her tears, looked at me, and began thanking me.
"...Really... thank you... sniff... Juhwan-kun... really... thank you..."
We held each other’s hands tightly in the collapsing Singularity and waited for his call. A few minutes later, a hologram opened from my wrist, and Romani appeared to speak to us.
-Juhwan-kun!! The Director’s body is complete, so I’m going to [Ray Shift] the Director back to Chaldea first!!
The Director’s body began to fade away little by little, and thankfully it seemed to have returned safely to where it belonged. The moment I was about to go back next—
Thud...!!!
"Romani!? The Singularity is collapsing right now!?"
The Singularity, which had been collapsing slowly, suddenly began to break apart in earnest, and before long I was falling into the rapidly collapsing space.
-I know, I’m already doing it!! But sorry, your side might collapse faster!!
"Ah, damn it..."
By the time I answered, the Singularity had already collapsed, and I had vanished with it.
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"Um... would you mind waking up?"
Thinking, 'An unfamiliar ceiling...?' I opened my eyes and sat up. Flowers bloomed all around me, and at the center of those flowers stood a massive tower. In front of me, a man and a woman were looking down at me as I lay there, and with their help I managed to stand.
"You’ve finally come to? Good. Ah, introductions, introductions. My name is Merlin. Merlin, the Magus of Flowers!"
He introduced himself as Merlin... which meant...
'Did I die? What the hell, this is Avalon!? The Avalon from Part 2, Chapter 6!? Why am I here!? Don’t tell me I died!?'
While I was thinking that, the white-haired girl with the small frame standing beside him greeted me.
"Hello~★ I’m Lady Avalon, Merlin big brother’s cute little sister~★!"
After hearing her shocking introduction, Merlin looked at her as if he couldn’t believe what he was hearing and said,
"No matter how you slice it, calling yourself my little sister is a bit much, isn’t it!?"
Seeing his amusing reaction, she smiled brightly and shot back, clearly entertained.
"Ahaha~★ What’s wrong with that~? Anyone would think we were such a close pair of siblings~?"
Rather than minding it, she seemed to find it amusing, and Merlin pressed a hand to his temple for a moment before ignoring her antics and continuing to speak to me.
"Anyway, we sent you here from the collapsing Singularity. You still can’t die yet."
"What... do you mean by that..."
The moment I tried to question them, a pillar of blue light began to envelop me. Seeing that, the two of them looked regretful and came to see me off.
"What? You’re leaving already? Take care. May the blessing of flowers always be with you on your journey."
"Take care~ And say hello to Tonelico for me too~."
'No, how do you even know Tonelico!?'
They began waving at me. Still full of unanswered questions, I was about to ask them one last thing.
"Wait...!"
But my consciousness slipped away as if under anesthesia, and I lost consciousness and collapsed.
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"Uh... an unfamiliar ceiling... my ass."
When I opened my eyes again, this time in my own room rather than some unfamiliar ceiling, I rubbed my eyes and tried to get up to check the situation. Then I must have woken the girl sleeping beside me, because she rubbed her eyes too, confirmed that I was awake, and hugged me as she said,
"Mmm... huh!? You’re awake!?"
The girl had long silver hair, orange eyes, and was wearing clothes similar to Director Olga’s...
"D-Director...?"
Singularity F: Blazing Contaminated City Fuyuki (End)
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