Ordeal Call - Prologue
Ordeal Call Prologue
Nemo:
We will soon enter the Antarctic Circle. TRISMEGISTUS II estimates that there won't be any danger for about a day.
Nemo:
Which is to say that there is absolutely no interference from enemy forces expected until we reach Chaldea Base at the Antarctic.
Nemo:
I expect all crew members to remain adequately focused and prepare for our arrival at the Antarctic.
Fujimaru 1:
Finally—
Fujimaru 2:
The time has come to return to Chaldea Base...
Sion:
Could I have a word before then?
Sion:
Though it's a separate matter to what we've now identified as the alien world of CHALDEAS, but anyway...
Sion:
My analysis of Subject: E is complete. Would you like hear the report, Commander Gordolf?
Gordolf:
R-Right, we did have that question remaining as well! The amount of incomprehensible facts increasing even further does bother me, but...
Gordolf:
Things won't get better by refusing to listen! You are permitted to deliver your report! But make it quick!
Sion:
First, I'll start with the information we were able to analyze.
Sion:
We've now learned that the mysterious facility that our investigation team of Fujimaru, Mash, and Kadoc entered is...
Sion:
...actually a research facility that exists in our world as well.
Sion:
Its purpose was to research some kind of outer space-originating object that had been secretly brought into Area 51, Nevada.
Sion:
We weren't able to examine the more intricate equipment, but according to the information recorded by Mash's Ortenaus...
Sion:
The place is a 99% match with what TRISMEGISTUS calculates to be an Area 51 research facility.
Sion:
Which is to say that the facility in which Subject: E was located is a place which has its origins in Pan-Human History.
Kadoc:
Yeah... I guess that adds up.
Kadoc:
That building felt really out-of-place for a location in the large-scale Singularity.
Kadoc:
It wouldn't be odd to assume that the Singularity came into being with that operating room as its epicenter.
Da Vinci:
Yep. I'm of the same opinion. It ties into the question of what kind of person the Master was,
Da Vinci:
given the massive number of Servants that were summoned in the Singularity.
Da Vinci:
In my opinion, it was only that operating room that was from Pan-Human History. Or rather, was from a planet exceedingly close to that of Pan-Human History.
Da Vinci:
A facility located at the Nevada within CHALDEAS... Or maybe I'm pushing this conclusion too far?
Mash:
Wait... if only that facility was part of CHALDEAS...
Mash:
Then, does that mean the cosmic-looking corridor was actually moving us between the different worlds?
Da Vinci:
Most likely, yes. There's this thing known as Substitution Magecraft in the world of magecraft.
Da Vinci:
For instance, let's say we have a Gordolf A and a Gordolf B here.
Da Vinci:
In the case that they have the exact same makeup and information load, they could “swap” places no matter how distant they are to one another.
Da Vinci:
And how come? Well, obviously because from a third party's point of view, they aren't different in the slightest.
Da Vinci:
Only the substituted people will know that they've been swapped. Actually, depending on the circumstances, not even they would know.
Da Vinci:
Magecraft works best when something supernatural happens but the world can't notice the difference.
Gordolf:
Mm. It's magecraft that's thought to be theoretically possible, at least. The larger the object, the more difficult it is, however.
Gordolf:
I'm fairly certain I've heard it was being researched by some old lineage that doesn't affiliate with the Clock Tower.
Gordolf:
Also, I'd appreciate if you didn't use me as the example there.
Gordolf:
If an A or a B got attached to the end of my name all of a sudden, I wouldn't be able to sleep at night anymore.
Fujimaru 1:
Substitution... swapping...
Fujimaru 1:
So the reason Earth was suddenly bleached could've been...
Kadoc:
Because the surface of Earth and the surface of CHALDEAS were swapped?
Da Vinci:
After all, miniature or not, CHALDEAS is indeed an identical entity to that of Earth, created by copying its soul, right.
Da Vinci:
The difference in size isn't a big issue. As long as the information content and makeup of their souls are the same, swapping them is possible.
Da Vinci:
Honestly, more so than the nature of the Bleached Earth, the way it was carried out was always the more mysterious part.
Da Vinci:
Because it's impossible to destroy the entirety of Earth's civilization in an instant without harming the planet itself.
Mash:
But if instead, it was swapped out for something that had already been bleached, then you wouldn't have to hurt it...?
Da Vinci:
Right, which tells us that for CHALDEAS, our world, Earth, is still completely unhurt.
Da Vinci:
Meaning that as long as we restore the relationship between CHALDEAS and Earth to normal, your future will once again proceed as normal.
Kadoc:
Everything will go back to normal, huh...
Kadoc:
When the Earth was bleached, human history stopped at 2017. So it would just go back to operation normally as it was before.
Kadoc:
But, wait... CHALDEAS simulates the Earth as it is 100 years in the future.
Kadoc:
In that case, the facility would be one from 2117. But when you think about it from that perspective, like...
Sion:
You're wondering why the facility was built using the same technology as found in 2017... basically, wouldn't that be too old?
Sion:
That bothered me as well.
Sion:
I immediately realized that the room was part of CHALDEAS' interior, but...
Sion:
You couldn't have taken it as using cutting-edge technology from 2117. However, according to the data, Subject: E's time of death was just a few days prior.
Sion:
If that room was CHALDEAS, then Subject: E is a being that died in 2117.
Sion:
And yet, the level of the technology there was the same as ours in 2017.
Sion:
I was afraid I'd be unable to explain anything if I didn't solve that contradiction, but...
Fujimaru 1:
Could it simply be that...
Fujimaru 2:
The equipment couldn't be upgraded...?
Sion:
Spot-on! It seems false, or even planned like complete nonsense, but that's correct!
Sion:
The fact that there's a 100-year disparity remains, and so, we have no choice but to assume that the equipment couldn't be upgraded.
Gordolf:
Uh-huh? Is that really so likely?
Sion:
Let's just assume that there were some circumstances that forced it to be like that.
Sion:
Such as a lack of budget or personnel.
Sion:
In Pan-Human History, the top secret facility of Area 51 had been long-since closed down, since around 2001.
Sion:
The research budget they received from the government was cut off.
Sion:
In a similar fashion, the facility on the Earth of CHALDEAS must've most likely ran into some kind of problem.
Da Vinci:
Well... I won't deny the possibility...
Da Vinci:
After all, securing a budget is the top priority and yet also the most difficult task for researchers.
Da Vinci:
However, there's a massive distinction to be made between the facility found on Earth, and the one in CHALDEAS.
Da Vinci:
I'm obviously talking about Subject: E. Given that this lifeform actually existed there...
Da Vinci:
The facility on the Earth of CHALDEAS must've accomplished something the one in Pan-Human History did not.
Da Vinci:
In which case, it'd be logical to think the opposite happened, and it was injected with enough funding to run a country.
Sion:
As I said, it “ran into some kind of problem”. The reason itself isn't important, so let's keep going, okay?
Sion:
The remains we discovered in the operating room had the exact same biological composition as that of us humans.
Sion:
And despite that, TRISMEGISTUS II did not deem those remains to be that of an “Earthling”.
Sion:
Not because it wasn't, but because it couldn't. His values were identical, yet different all the same—
Sion:
Because of this logic error, TRISMEGISTUS II could not give a conclusive answer to what Subject: E was.
Sion:
At the very last stage of its calculations, it managed to apply the label of “human” to it, before freezing.
Sion:
As such, I put that conclusion on hold, and asked it to just analyze the situation.
Sion:
And when I did, the information lined up immediately.
Sion:
1st Finding: Subject: E was a human from the Earth of CHALDEAS.
Sion:
2nd Finding: If the Bleached Earth is CHALDEAS' surface, then the mankind of CHALDEAS have already perished.
Sion:
3rd Finding: The equipment used in the research facility of CHALDEAS' Earth were antiques, therefore....
Sion:
All technology developed in the 100-year span of 2017 to 2117 has become malfunctional.
Sion:
This is something that can be deduced from the structures that still remain on the Bleached Earth.
Sion:
If there are machines that could operate on the Bleached Earth, they would be antiques from 100 years prior.
Sion:
Something like a motorcycle, or some such, that uses a simple combustion engine, perhaps.
Sion:
That is all which can be theorized from Subject: E. With that in mind...
Sion:
If we want to ask ourselves why Subject: E become a Master...
Sion:
Why he summoned that many Servants, and why the large-scale Singularity came into being, then it could only be—
Kadoc:
Revenge... The Earth of CHALDEAS was bleached.
Kadoc:
Who knows how exactly, but we know the reason why.
Kadoc:
It was bleached in order to prepare for the swap between the our Earth and that of CHALDEAS.
Kadoc:
Subject: E knew this, and that's why he applied the impulse for revenge on his Servants.
Kadoc:
Basically, retribution against those who brought his world to ruin... Retribution against Pan-Human History.
Kadoc:
Subject: E was fully aware that he was the last of all mankind.
Kadoc:
Being the last person left in CHALDEAS's Earth essentially made him their Representative of Mankind.
Kadoc:
In fact... it'd be impossible if that wasn't the case, considering the number of Servants involved.
Kadoc:
Summoning that many Servants is impossible for a single individual.
Kadoc:
The will of the dead people of CHALDEAS' Earth made it possible to summon such a massive number of Servants.
Kadoc:
The bizarre number of Command Spells makes perfect sense then.
Kadoc:
Those were probably the Command Spells of the people from the Earth of CHALDEAS who had the potential to be a Master.
Kadoc:
And that corpse...
Kadoc:
It must've been someone like you; a nameless nobody who was saddled with mankind's future.
Fujimaru 1:
...
Fujimaru 2:
...(Wait, but that's...)
Moriarty:
You've obtained the information on Subject: E.
Moriarty:
It's Chaldea's own job to analyze what Subject: E is... but I can kick in a freebie or two.
Moriarty:
That is no life form native to the Earth.
Moriarty:
It's the remains of a creature who spent a century in that laboratory concealed, examined, and experimented on.
Moriarty:
I believe that its death throes called its kin, the Alien God...
Gordolf:
Wait, wait, wait!
Gordolf:
Whatever happened on the Earth of CHALDEAS is unfortunate, but it's not something we can do anything about!
Gordolf:
There's no need for us to feel any guilt over it! Right now, we need to establish a proper timeline!
Gordolf:
If I remember correctly, there was documentation that by the time of 2015 when our Fujimaru here arrived at Chaldea...
Gordolf:
CHALDEAS had already entered a state where the future of mankind could not be observed.
Gordolf:
Had CHALDEAS already been bleached by this point? How does that work!?
Meunière:
No, it hadn't. Sure, Singularity F happened, and the light of civilization had faded here and there,
Meunière:
But the surface of CHALDEAS was the same as that of Earth's.
Meunière:
It was SHEBA which announced that the security of human history couldn't be observed beyond 2016.
Meunière:
That's something we can all vouch for.
Meunière:
And given what would come after, SHEBA was right. Whether it was the Incineration of the Human Order, or the Bleaching, there was no future.
Meunière:
The Earth of CHALDEAS was probably bleached after the Incineration had been resolved.
Meunière:
Though it does mean we were tricked by CHALDEAS when we were in the middle of dealing with the special circumstances of 2017.
Gordolf:
—Hmm... So basically, CHALDEAS was in perfect order before the Rayshift experiment of 2015.
Gordolf:
Or rather, it had yet to reveal its malicious true colors.
Gordolf:
Which means it's possible to assume that Solomon's Human Order Incineration was unexpected, and that if that hadn't happened...
Gordolf:
CHALDEAS was arranged to cause this current state of affairs at the end of 2016.
Gordolf:
Solomon, or more accurately, Goetia, happened to throw a wrench into Marisbury's plans by accident.
Gordolf:
So perhaps the plan to swap CHALDEAS and Earth was delayed by the emergence of Singularity F?
Da Vinci:
Oh, I see. The explosion in the control room wasn't part of Former Director Marisbury's plan, after all.
Da Vinci:
As such, it helped create the strange situation that came about afterward, the one we currently have on our hands.
Da Vinci:
It's Olga Marie. When Lev Lainur threw her into CHALDEAS, something must've surely gone wrong somewhere.
Sion:
...
Sion:
That is all for the information I can disclose about Subject: E.
Sion:
Through this theorizing, we've uncovered about 80% of what the purpose behind CHALDEAS' creation is.
Sion:
It's to swap out Earth, or more accurately, mankind—
Sion:
The objective of the person who created CHALDEAS, Former Director Marisbury Animusphere, was to turn Earth into what we see before us.
Sion:
So then the next thing we then need to think about is what exactly he would have gained by doing that.
Fujimaru 1:
Yeah... Bleaching the Earth...
Fujimaru 2:
Who would benefit from it, and how?
Sion:
Sure is a thinker, that one... Neither me nor TRISMEGISTUS II have been able to come up with an answer to this question.
Sion:
Goetia wished for life without death; a planet without death. Kirschtaria wished for the advancement of mankind.
Sion:
And Daybit tried to destroy the entire Earth together with CHALDEAS for the sake of, in his own words, “the good name of the Earthlings”.
Sion:
Even if we couldn't sympathize with them, they all had understandable motives.
Sion:
The Bleaching of the Earth, on the other hand, just doesn't make sense. I can't see what the ultimate goal here is.
Gordolf:
Did he just give up on mankind, perhaps? You know, wipe out mankind and purify Earth.
Kadoc:
Marisbury...wasn't that kind of person. He wasn't a nihilist or a pessimist.
Kadoc:
He was a genuine magus, one who delighted in mankind's prosperity and desired the advancement of learning.
Da Vinci:
Makes sense. If he hadn't been that kind of person...
Da Vinci:
Then King Solomon wouldn't have answered his summons and cooperated with him during the Holy Grail War in Fuyuki.
Da Vinci:
Marisbury was most certainly an honest and respectable magus. However...
Da Vinci:
Honest and respectable comes in all sorts and kinds. Much in the same fashion as Daybit...
Da Vinci:
Marisbury's objective must be something where the logic is so extreme we cannot conceive of it as “honest and respectable”.
Kadoc:
Maybe so... He was a Lord from the Clock Tower, after all.
Kadoc:
His standard of what constitutes “prosperity” must be far different from how we imagine it.
Da Vinci:
Yep. We've now been able to establish only that our Earth is fine, and what the condition of CHALDEAS is like.
Da Vinci:
Everything will become clear to us at the Antarctic. Nemo, how long until we arrive?
Nemo:
Excellent timing. We will now be entering into the Antarctic.
Nemo:
Nothing which could obstruct our advance can be observed. We will now proceed toward Chaldea Ba—
Nemo:
Decelerate! Change course! There's a barrier! Alerting all crew to brace for impact!
Fujimaru 1:
What's going on—!?
Fujimaru 2:
Didn't you just say nothing could be observed!?
Sion:
SHEBA didn't even alert us! No hostile readings or any gravitational field emerged either!
Sion:
And yet, we were still repelled! Was it air pressure high enough to push back the Storm Border or something!?
Gordolf:
Damn, I knew it wouldn't be so simple!
Gordolf:
Is the Alien God, or rather, CHALDEAS attacking us!? Technical Advisor, opinions, please!
Da Vinci:
That's the thing! There is no activity coming from the Antarctic! This barrier has nothing to do with it!
Mash:
No, listen everyone. That is in all likelihood... the Wall of Human Order.
Mash:
I know about this kind of protection. It's like Heroic Spirit Galahad's Noble Phantasm, Lord Camelot.
Mash:
It's the same force powering this wall. The Antarctic is being protected by the Securing of the Human Order!
Nemo:
We've now circled all around the Antarctic, but the barrier covers every single spot of it.
Nemo:
Neither assault via the Storm Border's Dimensional Penetration nor incursion via the Shadow Border's Zero Sail are viable.
Nemo:
The exact reason is unknown, but no matter what we do, we're repelled. This is the first time I've run into such an obnoxious barrier.
Nemo:
Its lack of physical form means it cannot be destroyed either. Trying to use special kinds of navigation gets them cancelled.
Nemo:
I don't have the slightest clue what the logic behind this thing is.
Gordolf:
How frustrating! Our destination is right in front of our noses, and yet we can't even get close!
Gordolf:
Technical Advisor, Sion, is there nothing we can do!? Isn't it about time you got done with that analysis you're so proud of!?
Sion:
No way at all. I don't have the slightest idea either. What even is this? Are we being humiliated or something?
Da Vinci:
Yeah. Get close, and it appears, go back and it disappears.
Da Vinci:
And for all it refuses to let us through, it still inflicts basically no damage on us.
Da Vinci:
It's also impossible to observe where it's getting all its energy from. Not even the Walls of Storms were this bad.
Fujimaru 1:
Both of them are throwing in the towel...
Fujimaru 2:
If it's the same as Lord Camelot, then...
Mash:
...
???:
Naturally. With the Seven Lostbelts excised, CHALDEAS has become the keystone of human history—the Celestial Sphere of Human Order Assurance.
???:
That wall is not protecting CHALDEAS, it's more like a migration checkpoint which refuses to admit the foreign.
???:
The Antarctic isn't obstructing you, you yourselves are repelling Pan-Human History.
Mash:
This voice—
Fujimaru 1:
Hey, look on deck!
Fujimaru 2:
That's
Da Vinci:
“Romani Archaman”! Marine, pick up his voice!
Nemo Marine:
Understood! Redirecting cameras!
Romani Archaman:
Beyond here lies the domain of the “complete” Pan-Human History. You cannot trespass upon it as you are now.
Romani Archaman:
—Not something I'd been expecting either, but—
Romani Archaman:
Throughout your battles up until now, you have made excessive use of things that aren't from Pan-Human History.
Romani Archaman:
Servants from outside of the Seven Classes. Rulers, Alter-Egos, and Avengers.
Romani Archaman:
As a result of abusing such ordinarily impossible classes, you are now being perceived as foreign entities.
Romani Archaman:
If you do not correct this distortion, it will be impossible for you to approach CHALDEAS.
Romani Archaman:
You can't bring those Classes into the future beyond 2017... Actually, that's not quite right.
Romani Archaman:
You won't be able to bring them with you with your current perception.
Romani Archaman:
Fujimaru. The gears turning within you are out of sync.
Romani Archaman:
Why do these ordinarily impossible attributes exist?
Romani Archaman:
Exactly how ought their weapons and their character be of service to human history?
Romani Archaman:
Once you've understood and assessed this, your foreignness will surely be no more.
Romani Archaman:
—Turn your ship around, Novum Chaldea.
Romani Archaman:
The regions of your distortions, where you'll come to reckon with the sins you've committed unaware, are most definitely to be found.
Romani Archaman:
Ordeal Call. The duty you must fulfill beckons for you.
Romani Archaman:
Once four... no, three reckonings have been completed, the truth of the celestial sphere will come to light.
Romani Archaman:
The parting will invariably come. So go acquire the strength of mind needed to take in that moment.
Sion:
The answer by TRISMEGISTUS II has come in. The accusation made by the mysterious stranger appears to have hit the mark.
Sion:
“The barrier surrounding the Antarctic is close to a self-purification function, and the cause of it lies within ourselves.”
Sion:
As much as it pains me to say, from the Human Order's perspective, we are basically like a pack of outlaws right now.
Sion:
We ourselves are denying our entry into the pure lands of the Antarctic, or something like that.
Mash:
I had suspected it was something like that. It wasn't an attack, but a warning.
Mash:
Normally, the Extra Classes are something which are beyond human control. So abusing them would obviously exclude us from the Human Order.
Meunière:
It's sort of like we've been using weapons outlawed by international humanitarian law with reckless abandon.
Meunière:
Guilty as can be, aren't we... Oh.
Meunière:
Sorry... Should've chosen my words carefully. It was just an metaphor, nothing more...
Mash:
I know. Thank you for clarifying, Meunière.
Mash:
However, fact is fact. If CHALDEAS was created with an evil purpose in mind, then...
Mash:
It is only right that the Demi-Servant experiment is to be suspected of being something similarly wicked.
Mash:
In light of that, it will be up to my own deeds to demonstrate the ethics of my own being.
Mash:
There are plenty of futures to choose, even for someone born out of injustice.
Mash:
Fortunately, I have been granted the power of protection. In no way, shape, or form could such a power be something wicked.
Fujimaru 1:
—Yeah, you're right.
Fujimaru 2:
You always knew that, didn't you, Mash?
Gordolf:
... (Well said, Mash Kyrielight.)
Gordolf:
(However, once outsiders come to learn of this incident, it's obvious you'll all be criticized for your actions.)
Gordolf:
(As for what I can do for them... I'm not sure. But there must be something I can do so this pack of fools end up being rewarded.)
Da Vinci:
—Yeah. The Chaldea that Marisbury established was truly one of evil.
Da Vinci:
However, what came afterward was undeniably one of good.
Da Vinci:
After the course of events during the Rayshift experiment of 2015, the Chaldea of Director Marisbury came to an end.
Da Vinci:
Spiritually, and physically.
Da Vinci:
The only staff remaining were a dozen or so normal people who didn't know of Marisbury's true intentions...
Da Vinci:
As well as Romani Archaman, spurned on by his duty to prevent the Incineration of the Human Order.
Da Vinci:
From then on, Chaldea was a different organization.
Da Vinci:
Rather than one meant to secure the future that the Animusphere had thought up and obsessed with, it was one meant to secure the manifold futures that humans dream of.
Da Vinci:
And that won't be changing anytime soon.
Da Vinci:
No worries, if there's some sort of problem with us, we'll just have to solve it with pluck and smarts like we always do☆
Da Vinci:
That person from before said there were “distortions”.
Da Vinci:
So some Singularity-like aberrations must have formed elsewhere while we were hindered by this defect.
Da Vinci:
We need to prove our own innocence by discovering these. We'll take care of the Antarctic afterward.
Nemo:
You mean we're bringing the ship about, got it. I have no objections to that as captain.
Nemo:
I was just thinking we should go back to the regions with still buildings standing to resupply anyway.
Gordolf:
—Very well. It's not like I thought things would go so smoothly regardless.
Gordolf:
I suppose I'll just have to keep you all company a bit longer. Let's go all out, why don't we?
Sion:
Given that I'm an alchemist from the Atlas Institute, being treated as a criminal due to the abuse of weaponry does hit quite the sore spot.
Sion:
I mean, isn't like half of this... or maybe at least a third of it, kinda my fault?
Sion:
So, of course, I have no objections.
Sion:
I'll support you all in your search, together with TRISMEGISTUS II, of course.
Da Vinci:
That's the situation... How do you feel about it, Fujimaru?
Da Vinci:
It does mean the goal at the end of our journey will have to wait a bit, though.
Fujimaru 1:
—Of course! It'd be my pleasure!
Fujimaru 2:
I appreciate everyone helping us out!
Da Vinci:
Great! Then let us begin the Storm Border's worldwide search!
Da Vinci:
You could think of it as a warmup before we come face-to-face with CHALDEAS. Since we'll get the opportunity to resupply, it's practically all we could ask for.
Da Vinci:
That said, this is no doubt an unprecedented search into the unknown.
Da Vinci:
The distortions accumulated throughout our battles so far... The abuses of the Human Order we have to confront.
Da Vinci:
It doesn't sit right with me to borrow the words of that person from before, but it's easy to understand, so let's go with it.
Da Vinci:
Operation “Ordeal Call”! Once we have overcome these trials, our final destination awaits!
Ordeal Call 0
Da Vinci:
Good, everyone's here. Sorry for calling on you all out of the blue.
Da Vinci:
“The distortions accumulated throughout our battles so far... The abuses of the Human Order we have to confront.”
Da Vinci:
“Operation 'Ordeal Call'! Once we have overcome these trials, our final destination awaits!”
Da Vinci:
Despite all our declarations like this, the operations department had been wholly unable to come up with a strategy or course of action.
Da Vinci:
But that disgrace ends today! Indeed, the reason I gathered you all here today is for one simple reason:
Da Vinci:
A proof of innocence to grant us entry to Antarctica.
Da Vinci:
I will unveil to you the details to rectify the “distortions” which we have accumulated!
Gordolf:
Oh, how very good!
Gordolf:
Loitering around the bleached Earth with nothing to go on was only serving to make me depressed!
Gordolf:
So what is it then? What is the weak point which we will target?
Gordolf:
When you say “distortion”, I presume you mean Singularity, of which we who have surmounted seven Lostbelts no longer have anything to fear.
Gordolf:
Come then, let's restore it and set sail for Antarctica right away, why don't we? What do you say, Fujimaru?
Fujimaru 1:
Singularities are always dangerous. Even now.
Kadoc:
You're probably right... Lostbelts represent a single history, so although their scale is much greater, the hostility of them is scarce.
Kadoc:
Singularities, on the other hand, no matter how much smaller they may be in scale, do pose a threat to Pan-Human History.
Kadoc:
It's not really fair to make a comparison as to which is easier in the first place. Besides...
Mash:
The Paper Moon shows nothing out of the ordinary. No Singularities seem to have been located as of now...
Fujimaru 2:
But the Paper Moon shows nothing out of the ordinary...
Da Vinci:
Precisely. There have been no Singularities discovered for us to engage with.
Da Vinci:
The words spoken by “Romani Archaman” could be summed up as “Solve for x”,
Da Vinci:
but we haven't been able to find any places of abnormality on the bleached Earth. In other words, a “question sheet” doesn't even exist.
Nemo:
Right, if there's no enemy on the radar, there's nothing to torpedo in the first place. I feel like an orca in a sea devoid of whales.
Nemo:
It's been several weeks now that we've been flying around, looking for a Singularity, but we've come up empty-handed, as you're well aware.
Nemo:
There are neither charts nor compass to navigate by here.
Nemo:
I even blurted out one time that it even being a Lostbelt would have been so much better.
Gordolf:
Mm. Rather than smooth sailing, it would be more appropriate to say that there has been nothing but a perfect lull... It's no wonder I've been putting on weight...
Gordolf:
So what do we do, then? If there is nothing to find on the surface, then perhaps the sky...
Gordolf:
Yes, what about the altitudes reaching into the stratosphere?
Da Vinci:
That's a last resort. The Storm Border isn't a spaceship, so I would prefer to avoid having to use it as one.
Da Vinci:
Rather, what's actually the case is that we were mistaken from the start. The idea of “Find the solution” was erroneous.
Da Vinci:
After all, the enemy this time is not “external”, but “internal”—inside Chaldea.
Da Vinci:
If you were repelling abnormalities as the Human Order Security encapsulating Antarctica, what's the first thing you'd scrutinize?
Da Vinci:
Do you have any idea, Fujimaru?
Fujimaru 1:
Enforce the dress code?
Fujimaru 2:
Ensure nobody drunk gets by?
Da Vinci:
Just so. In order to make that happen, we first have to understand what “state we're in right now”.
Da Vinci:
And for that purpose—
Nemo Professor:
Finally, I was so tired of waiting~. I'm so happy it's finally my turn to speeaaak~.
Nemo Professor:
Now then, eyes up front, please.
Nemo Professor:
This new device was created at the request of Da Vinci, produced in collaboration with Sion...
Nemo Professor:
It's name is the “Human Order Foundation Display”~.
Gordolf:
Oh? A Human Order Foundation Display. So it's— what is it?
Nemo Professor:
It's exactly what it sounds like~. We put emphasis on clarity this time, see?
Nemo Professor:
It's different from the Human Order Foundation Value measurement, as it doesn't analyze the Human Order Foundation of an entire human history.
Nemo Professor:
Rather, it measures that of the Storm Border itself. An “event discrepancy measurement/tuning meter”, in other words.
Nemo Professor:
Sion, would you elaborate~?
Sion:
It's simple enough. No different than having your baggage checked when entering a country.
Sion:
The value on the display shows Chaldea's—or everyone's, I should say—current “distortion”.
Sion:
At present, it's at E. That's the worst possible rank.
Sion:
TRISMEGISTUS II declared that when we manage to get it back to A, we will be able to cross over the “Wall of the Human Order” in Antarctica.
Gordolf:
Oh... That's rather dreadful. Are we really at the lowest rank?
Sion:
We are. One really has to wonder how we managed to take it this far without noticing anything. What do you think, Fou?
Fou:
Fou, foufou. Fou.
Meunière:
But how are you proposing that we restore our Human Order Foundation?
Meunière:
We haven't been able to find any Singularities, right? So are we just supposed to keep sitting here on our hands?
Sion:
We are. At least for now. It is the best, and arguably the only correct thing we can do.
Sion:
I've already discussed this with Da Vinci, but Romani Archaman used the word “call”.
Sion:
I don't think the implication is for us to be “called in”, but rather that “we will call” for something.
Sion:
As soon as I started thinking about it like this, I started to understand.
Sion:
The “Human Order Foundation Display” is not just a measuring device, but also something to help make things clear.
Sion:
It was devised as an internal/external alarm, basically screaming “Hey look, there are serial rule violators here!”,
Sion:
and a signal to call the countless past ordeals of order restoration back to us.
Mash:
Calling out...ordeals...
Mash:
In hindsight, that seems correct. A distortion of the body is something to be mended by one's own hands.
Mash:
There isn't actually anything wrong with the world itself.
Fujimaru 1:
I see.
Fujimaru 2:
Then...it's finally time for
Da Vinci:
Indeed. We finally stand at the precipice of these ordeals. We have sounded the Ordeal Call.
Da Vinci:
What is our offense against the Human Order? What must we do to atone?
Da Vinci:
When given those questions, TRISMEGISTUS II replied:
Da Vinci:
“Your wrongdoing is a lack of awareness. Rather than utilizing them thoughtlessly, you must understand for what reason each of them exist.”
Da Vinci:
“Assertation. Comprehension. Separation.” “Possibly also consignment. An oath.”
Da Vinci:
“You must answer these questions. Each time you do, a distortion will be rectified.”
Da Vinci:
Well, as things are right now, I really have no idea what it's trying to say.
Fujimaru 1:
(Rather than utilizing them thoughtlessly—)
Fujimaru 2:
(Understand the meaning of each existence)
Nemo:
It's fine, there's no need to overthink it right now, Fujimaru.
Nemo:
After all, we're not sailing toward the ordeals. They will come our way.
Nemo:
We just have to prepare ourselves. When the time comes, we simply have to give it all we got.
Nemo:
—Alright. Now then, this is our strategy!
Nemo:
The ship will continue investigating the bleached Earth, while we strengthen ourselves in preparation for the approaching final battle.
Nemo:
To be more specific—we are now able to enhance servant classes!
Fujimaru 1:
Class enhancement...?
Fujimaru 2:
You're kidding... (Is this new?)
Nemo:
Not kidding at all. It's something that's been under development for quite some time now.
Nemo:
Our “Human Order Foundation Value” has decreased significantly.
Nemo:
With the seven Lostbelts excised, the base foundations of human history have greatly improved.
Nemo:
Meaning that the summon spells that utilize human history as the information source to call upon Heroic Spirits have gained a much firmer platform.
Nemo:
Da Vinci and Sion have called this a “Class Score”.
Nemo:
Class Score enhancement does not apply to any individual Heroic Spirit, but to an entire class. All servants within that class will be strengthened.
Nemo:
Strengthening your score will aid you in the fight ahead,
Nemo:
and TRISMEGISTUS II predicts that it will be our ace in the hole in the final fight against the Alien God.
Nemo:
If you want to learn more, please ask Professor later.
Nemo:
That concludes my report from the ship. Now then—
Nemo:
I want you to remain cautious, and work hard to hone your self-discipline. I expect great things from each and every one of you!