Tokyo Singularity (VI) This is a place destined for destruction...
Fujimaru Ritsuka calmly looked in the direction of the sound, and Oberon also took a step forward, his pure white fur cloak almost completely covering his body.
At the same time, she faintly heard a barely audible "tsk" sound.
Fujimaru Ritsuka: "?"
Meanwhile, Xia Youjie, who was the center of attention, was still having his worldview challenged. What had he just heard? Da Vinci?
As a sorcerer not born into a prestigious family, Xia Youjie entered the world of sorcery after finishing junior high school, so he still possesses the necessary common sense—
Leonardo da Vinci—that's a name that resonates far and wide.
He really wanted to doubt the truthfulness of the girl's words. What if it was just a coincidence of names? What if it was just a case of chuunibyou (middle school syndrome)? What if... But when he saw the little Leonardo da Vinci's face on the projection, which looked almost exactly like the Mona Lisa in the world-famous painting, he couldn't think any further.
Could it really be the Leonardo da Vinci he knows? The gender is wrong, isn't it? He doesn't want his worldview to be shattered again, really.
Xia Youjie completely lost his composure, his mind going blank for a moment. It wasn't until the sound of the branch snapping that he belatedly realized what had just happened.
All eyes were fixed on the tree from which the sound had come. Knowing he had been exposed, Xia Youjie did not hide any longer.
Although he wasn't as strong as Gojo Satoru, he was still quite confident compared to the others. Moreover, according to Haibara, Fujimaru Ritsuka wasn't good at fighting, while he had Gojo Satoru on his side. Even in a two-on-two fight, they would definitely have the advantage.
So, Xia Youjie walked up to Fujimaru Ritsuka and tried to keep his voice steady as he said, "Sorry, I think I've stumbled into your conversation."
“But is this what you’re saying,” his gaze fell on Leonardo da Vinci with a complex expression, his eyes still holding a glimmer of hope common to humankind, as he spoke with difficulty: “The Chaldea and your companions who have taken up their posts?”
"This Leonardo da Vinci...?"
"Job, companions." Little Leonardo da Vinci repeated to himself with amusement, realizing that Fujimaru Ritsuka hadn't revealed everything about Chaldea this time.
This child has grown into someone to be proud of through her travels. Little Leonardo da Vinci smugly left the initiative of the conversation to Fujimaru Ritsuka.
Fujimaru Ritsuka saw Natsumi Yuki come out, then turned to glance at the Fairy King who was seriously daydreaming, and finally looked up at the calm Leonardo da Vinci.
She couldn't help but rub her forehead; so that's how it is.
People tend to trust secrets wholeheartedly only after they've figured out the methods themselves. Sometimes, leveraging the help of locals is essential.
How to get the two strongest players, along with their respective schools, to voluntarily help Chaldea repair the singularity? Of course, it's by making them believe they've discovered a shocking secret, a secret that must be tied to Chaldea.
So Oberon was just... complaining that Mr. Xia You had revealed himself too early?
Seeing that everyone was waiting for her to speak, Fujimaru Ritsuka suppressed the urge to glare at Oberon, organized her thoughts, and walked up to Natsuyuki, "Good evening, Mr. Natsuyuki."
"Let me introduce you. This is Leonardo da Vinci, the technical advisor of Chaldea." Catching Xia Youjie's bewildered gaze and last glimmer of hope, Ritsuka painfully shattered his illusions, emphasizing:
"It's the Leonardo da Vinci you're thinking of."
Silence fell, a long silence descended upon the woods.
Xia Youjie, a person who is extremely good at managing his expressions, rarely lost control. His face, which had been gloomy due to the summer heat, suddenly became vividly distorted.
"Ah...ah?"
Xia Youjie's worldview was constantly shattering and rebuilding, a lump forming in his throat. He even began to wonder if he was under a curse from a spirit and that what he was seeing now was just an illusion.
But deep down, something is clamoring within—that's the truth.
Why is Leonardo da Vinci, a man from the 15th century, still alive? He thought to himself and then voiced his question.
Fujimaru Ritsuka readily replied that it wasn't Leonardo da Vinci from the 15th century who was alive today. Rather, it was heroes who left behind great achievements during their lifetimes and garnered widespread faith who ascended to the Throne of Heroes and became Heroic Spirits. Humans who summoned a particular aspect of them would then become Servants.
"That was the original definition, but Gary's situation is much more complicated now," she thought to herself, somewhat angrily. "Not only have there been many strange new classes, but we can even summon beasts now."
The concept isn't hard to understand, but it's beyond imagination. Can you imagine the bearded man in your textbook turning into a beautiful young woman?
At least Xia Youjie is not very capable.
"History... the unofficial history that Mona Lisa is a portrait of Leonardo da Vinci is actually true..." Xia Youjie numbly exhaled a breath of air, regretting that he hadn't pulled Gojo Satoru and Ieiri Shoko along to accept the collapse of their worldview.
"Ha... Leonardo da Vinci was a woman."
"No, no, no, you've misunderstood!"
Fujimaru Ritsuka countered, deciding to do something to redeem the boy's values. She emphasized that Leonardo da Vinci transformed himself into the Mona Lisa because he pursued beauty. And this boy now…
"It's better for the person involved to announce this in person!" Little Da Vinci blinked on the communicator, straightened his bow tie, and said seriously:
"I am an avatar created by the omnipotent genius Leonardo da Vinci, and also the strongest secretary-type beautiful girl on Earth who supports the Chaldea Master—everyone's girl, Da Vinci!"
“That’s how it is.” Fujimaru Ritsuka shrugged.
However, things seem to have gotten worse after the explanation.
Xia Youjie's brain went blank.
Xia Youjie's brain is rebooting.
When Leonardo da Vinci, the culprit, saw Xia Youjie's seemingly unconscious expression, he couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. Even across time and space, the cunning mischievousness in her eyes was clear.
Fujimaru Ritsuka watched silently, then took a step back, cold sweat dripping down her back. Ugh, the advisor is terrifying.
Seeing Leonardo da Vinci's perfect face smile, Xia Youjie's expression twisted even more. He glanced at Oberon, who didn't intend to speak, and then immediately looked away.
Even though he was initially curious about who possessed the dazzling magic Haibara had mentioned, he chose to skip the topic to protect his shattered worldview. Instead, he asked Fujimaru Ritsuka:
"So, you're the one who summoned the so-called Servants?"
Fujimaru Ritsuka paused for a second, then extended her hand again. "Let me reintroduce myself." Her face was no longer smiling, but bearing the resolute look of someone seasoned by countless battles. Her bright golden eyes shone brilliantly in the moonlight.
“I am Fujimaru Ritsuka, the Master of Chaldea.”
They are the ones who take the place of countless others and walk to the end.
"Xia Youjie, a top-tier sorcerer." Xia Youjie grasped that hand again. His mood was heavier than the first time, yet it was also mixed with a hint of indescribable excitement.
The excitement of facing the unknown and a new world.
Yes, Xia Youjie now believed everything that was happening. He had no reason not to believe the communication technology far ahead of its time, the girl who looked remarkably like the Mona Lisa, and the complete worldview.
To be honest, there was no need to go to such lengths to deceive him. Besides, he only managed to get Fujimaru Ritsuka's honesty because he had overheard something important while following him.
"Hmm, it seems we can get back to business?" Leonardo da Vinci spoke up at the opportune moment, looking over with a smile.
"Please continue, Leonardo da Vinci."
"To put it simply, you are not in our world now, but in a parallel world similar to Shimousa, or even another universe." Little Leonardo da Vinci's expression turned serious. "Furthermore, this world has lost the possibility of development."
Another universe, meaning that history could unfold completely differently from pan-human history. That's great, this isn't a Lostbelt.
Fujimaru Ritsuka, who had just breathed a sigh of relief, looked up sharply when she heard the second half of Leonardo da Vinci's sentence. A guess formed in her mind, "Wait, that means...!"
"Bingo, this is a world destined for destruction."
"..."
"..."
"……ha."
Xia Youjie, who was listening in, tried hard to move his lips, but after a long time, he could only utter a faint murmur. Something's not right here, is it?
What is a world destined for destruction? What does it mean to cease to exist?
Also, it turns out that the words "world destruction" can be said in such an almost nonchalant tone.
Xia Youjie subconsciously glanced at Fujimaru Ritsuka, wanting to see what expression this seemingly ordinary girl would have upon receiving the news—surprise, emotion, or…
There was nothing there.
Despite hearing the same news about the potential destruction of the world, the girl remained unusually calm, as if she had experienced too much and was used to it.
No, how could that be? They're about the same age as him, how could they possibly be used to the end of the world?
Wow, it's destruction.
Fujimaru Ritsuka felt a strange sense of relief, as if the dust had settled. She scratched her head and told little Leonardo da Vinci about her day's events, including the seed of the Imaginary Tree, before asking without batting an eye, "If this isn't a Lostbelt, why did the seed of the Imaginary Tree appear?"
Regarding the question of the Imaginary Tree Seed, young Leonardo da Vinci had only just heard about it and could only offer a rough guess. The most likely possibility was that it was brought to this world by people from their universe.
But when it came to identifying Lostbelts, she instantly became interested and spoke eloquently in a way that Fujimaru Ritsuka could understand.
Lostbelts are parallel worlds that should have disappeared, but they seized Earth's land and continued to develop. Here, however, Tokyo from their world is temporarily connected to Tokyo from this world through magical crystals, the Holy Grail, the Imaginary Tree, or other anchor points.
Essentially, the two worlds are independent of each other.
“Because it’s another universe, even if the Imaginary Tree exists here, it can’t threaten our pan-human history,” Captain Nemo added. “You don’t really need to worry about this singularity; you can leave now.”
"As Chaldea's technical advisor, I agree with the captain's idea. Your safety is of paramount importance to us. Unless it's a singularity that absolutely needs to be resolved..."
“Da Vinci, dear.” Fujimaru Ritsuka gently shook her head, stopping little Da Vinci from continuing. Oberon, who had been silent behind her, snorted coldly, as if he had expected her answer.
"I don't want to give up."
She knew very well that this singularity, which was willing to let Chaldea be bombed in order to bring her here, would not be peaceful, and might even be a conspiracy against Chaldea and her.
However, value cannot be measured in this way. She doesn't want to abandon the people who are still living here.
"Wait a minute!" Xia Youjie raised his voice, interrupting Chaldea's conversation.
The Imaginary Tree, Lostbelt, Holy Grail—a string of terms almost knocked this poor soul, who hadn't paid attention in class for a long time, unconscious.
But he still tried to grasp the core contradiction: "What does it mean that there is no possibility of development in this world?"
Leonardo da Vinci turned to look at him and patiently explained, "The inability to develop new parallel worlds and the predictable ending mean there is no possibility of development."
"Then why do you say it will be destroyed?" That's just a bit monotonous, at best.
"The resources of a universe are finite. Once the possibility is lost, it becomes like a withered branch on a tree that needs to be pruned. Unless a new possibility suddenly appears in this world, it cannot escape the fate of destruction."
"……ah."
—It's hilarious that the place where sorcerers risk their lives every day to protect is destined to be destroyed.
Xia Youjie clenched his fists tightly, his knuckles turning almost white, revealing the turmoil in his heart. What was the meaning of everything they had done? What value did the principles he had upheld still hold?
Seeing the young man's astonishment, Leonardo da Vinci sighed softly and turned his gaze back to Fujimaru Ritsuka. "I'll check one last time."
"Even so, even if it's meaningless, is your choice still to repair the singularity?"
A note from the author:
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