Japan, Amid the Ocean
Ritsuka and her companions took a luxury yacht out to a deserted area of Japan's maritime zone. There was no commercial traffic here—perfect for the plan she intended to carry out.
"We've arrived, Commander," reported a soldier at the helm, specifically assigned to them by Kikuchihara. While the Japanese government couldn't exactly send a warship here—too provocative, and liable to be mistaken for a declaration of war—sending one trained soldier was simple enough.
"Miss Ritsuka, this is the location you requested," Kikuchihara said from inside the cabin. Ritsuka nodded and stepped out onto the yacht's deck.
"...Yes, this will do nicely." She looked around, confirmed the surroundings, and then said, "Alright, I'll begin."
Under Altair's eager gaze, Ritsuka opened her mouth—and uttered a sound no human could comprehend.
"Aaaaaa—aaaaaa——"
The strange, melancholic cry carried far across the waters. While the others tried to figure out what it meant, they noticed rippling distortions forming around Ritsuka.
The ripples grew more pronounced until a graceful silhouette emerged from within.
"Aaaaaa——"
The figure that stepped out echoed Ritsuka's strange cry—its gentle, hollow tone somehow producing waves of discomfort, even making some of them feel faint.
When the cry finally stopped, everyone could see her clearly—
Light blue hair streamed in the wind, two massive braids trailing all the way to her calves. Her clothing—or rather, lack thereof—was even more revealing than wearing nothing at all. Her bare chest was covered only by her crossed arms, hands clasped in a posture of prayer. Her snow-white abdomen bore a strange, glowing sigil, while her legs below the knees were an intense deep blue, bound tightly by what looked like enchanted chains. Her ears were full and elongated, but most striking of all were the huge, deep green horns curling from her head, emitting a faint violet glow from her eyes as she glanced at them—and then fixed her gaze squarely on Ritsuka.
"Aaaaaa——!"
The moment she saw Ritsuka, she darted over with pure joy. Ritsuka sighed and gently patted her light blue hair.
"Alright, Tia-mama, we've got serious work to do this time."
The creature closed her eyes contentedly, rubbing her head against Ritsuka like a spoiled pet. That was exactly what the others thought—she was just like an adorable, oversized pet.
After a bit more nuzzling, the woman called Tia-mama finally stepped back, awaiting Ritsuka's command.
"Next..." Ritsuka stroked her chin, then raised her Command Seal. "Doctor! Set up an extremely large concealment barrier here! And add suggestion magic—make sure no one approaches."
As she spoke, the group felt a layer of invisible light settle over them.
"Alright, that should do it." Ritsuka clapped her hands cheerfully. "Tia-mama—okay! Transform into your true form, but be careful with the black mud. Don't break the barrier."
"Aaaaaa!"
Tia-mama replied and leapt into the sea. Almost immediately, they felt something massive stirring below the surface. Curious, some leaned over the railing—and nearly jumped out of their skins.
A colossal shadow, far larger than anything they'd ever seen, was rising toward the surface.
"Aaaaaa—aaaaaa——!"
The shadow broke through the waves—and for an instant, the world itself seemed to groan under the sheer weight of a Primeval Sin. A crushing, primal fear pressed down on them.
[Evils of Humanity - Manifestation] [Advent Beast]
Possessor of Regression to the Age of Gods: Draconic Corpus— Tiamat had appeared.
"What... what is that thing?!" Altair clutched the railing as massive waves rocked the yacht. Even she felt her ability to fly being suppressed under Tiamat's overwhelming presence.
When the seas finally calmed, Ritsuka smiled. "That," she said, "is one of Mesopotamia's primeval creation gods—a womb discarded after the Genesis. Her name is—Tiamat."
"Creation God... Tiamat..." Takashi Matsubara gave a dry laugh. "Seriously? You can summon that as a Servant?"
"Of course not," Ritsuka shook her head. "Gods can't be summoned as Heroic Spirits—at best, a heavily diminished form might be called. But Tiamat isn't a Heroic Spirit at all—she's a Beast. One of the Seven Great Beasts—Beast II, also known as—the Evils of Humanity."
"Evils of Humanity... I see." Kikuchihara exhaled deeply. "So... what exactly are you planning to do with this legend-tier monster?"
"I plan," Ritsuka said simply, "to threaten this world a little."
"Threaten the world?!"
"That's right. This world may only have basic judgment capabilities—a purely rational system. Beings like that are easy to handle. You just have to make it realize it can't mess with us. Then it'll obey."
Everyone suddenly grasped the implication—she meant she had enough power to oppose the world itself. Perhaps even surpass it.
"So how exactly do you intend to 'threaten' it?" someone asked.
"Tiamat has a skill—Independent Manifestation. If she remains materialized for seven days, she can cover the entire Indian Ocean in her black mud. Now imagine if no one stops her—how much farther could she spread?"
You're trying to destroy the world?! Everyone felt the weight of their responsibility spike.
Seeing their expressions, Ritsuka waved it off. "Relax. Like I said, this kind of purely rational, basic-judgment entity is easy to trick. If this world had a will of its own, it would know we wouldn't actually destroy it. But this one doesn't—it can't tell. So... unless it accepts Shimazaki Setsuna's soul back into itself, its only other choice will be to let itself be destroyed. Two options—pick one."
And in fact, that's exactly how it played out.
Long before this, Ritsuka had tasked Goetia with delivering a message to the world's will:
"Accept Shimazaki Setsuna, or die."
At the time, the will of the world ignored it. But when Tiamat appeared... the will of the world panicked.
Damn, she's serious.
Faced with only two choices—and bound by pure rationality—it immediately chose to accept Shimazaki Setsuna back. Within moments, it dispatched its agents to deliver her soul directly to Ritsuka.
Ritsuka had barely waited a moment before she saw a glowing orb drift toward her. Peering inside, she spotted a girl's figure. She beckoned Altair and Mizushino Souta over to take a closer look—sure enough, it was Shimazaki Setsuna.
Everyone: "...That was... way too fast?!"
"Setsuna!" Altair cried, reaching to snatch the orb, her voice trembling with a vulnerability she had never shown before. Ritsuka smoothly sidestepped her and held the orb safely.
Kikuchihara stepped forward, frowning. "These past few days have completely shattered my sense of reality... Now that the soul is here, how exactly do you plan to resurrect her?"
"As long as the soul's intact, the rest is easy!" Ritsuka said confidently. "I'll send Setsuna's physical data and appearance to Chaldea. A new body should be ready in no time—don't underestimate our Caster department!"
Altair: "And where exactly did you get Setsuna's body data?"
While Ritsuka and Altair bickered, Kikuchihara asked another question. "In that case, once she's revived... how do we explain it to the public?"
Ritsuka pinned Altair in place with one hand and smiled. "Oh, that's where you come in, Miss Kikuchihara."
Kikuchihara sighed, massaging her temples. "Fine. I'll have the press report that Miss Setsuna was gravely injured and in a coma, but never actually dead. I'll also smooth things over with her mother."
"Thanks," Ritsuka grinned. "Ah—body's ready. Bring it aboard. And all you men, back inside the cabin—if you so much as peek, you're dead... Edmond, old man—yes, you too!"
Monte Cristo and Moriarty pointed at themselves innocently, then quietly dragged Heracles away. Even the Old Man of the Mountain slipped off without protest.
A flash of light heralded the arrival of Chaldea's artificial body—completely nude. Ritsuka pressed the soul orb firmly into its chest (and gave it a little squeeze for good measure).
Almost immediately, the body stirred—first coughing, then jolting awake. Shimazaki Setsuna blinked at the unfamiliar faces surrounding her—then realized she was naked.
"Aaaaaahhhhhh!!!"
Resurrection Complete -
"So... Altair created you... and went through all that... just to bring me back?"
Now dressed in clothes provided by Marine, Setsuna listened as Kikuchihara and Mizushino Souta explained the chaos her death had caused. Altair stood nearby, awkward, blushing, and deeply embarrassed—after all, she had caused most of the trouble.
"Mmh..." Setsuna suddenly threw her arms around Altair, pulling her into a tight, warm embrace. "I'm so touched!"
Altair's face turned crimson, her eyes spinning in circles as she froze in Setsuna's arms.
Watching the two of them, Ritsuka couldn't help but sigh happily. "Ah... yuri really is a beautiful thing. It's the ultimate salvation."
Off to the side, Tiamat—now back in her human form—seemed to want to do the same to Ritsuka, but the Old Man of the Mountain stopped her with a single raised blade. Even she was wary of the one man who had once severed her immortality, so she obediently sat back down, pouting slightly.
"Next, we head back to Tokyo," Kikuchihara announced. "Once we're there, I'll handle all the arrangements to officially 'undo' Miss Setsuna's death."
"Thank you, Miss Kikuchihara," Setsuna said warmly. "And thank you, Miss Ritsuka. Without you... I'd still be wandering outside this world."
Ritsuka waved off the gratitude. Mizushino Souta, however, stepped forward hesitantly. "Uh... Setsuna... I... I'm sorry!"
Setsuna froze for a moment, then smiled gently and waved her hand in forgiveness. Altair, though, glared daggers at Souta from behind her, making him break into a cold sweat.
The yacht sailed steadily toward Japan. Behind them, the massive barrier vanished without a trace.
One month later...
Kikuchihara had successfully destroyed Setsuna's death certificate and reinstated her as a survivor of grave injury. When her mother saw her alive, she burst into tears—and Setsuna cried too as they embraced.
The other Created Beings returned to their respective worlds. However, Ritsuka used the Craft Essence - Kaleidoscope to turn those worlds into small sub-worlds dependent on the main one. This freed them from their Creators' control—and, conveniently, gave the world's will a little extra benefit.
World's Will: Got rid of one useless soul, gained several sub-worlds—profit!
Ritsuka also handed out "dimensional travel cards" from the world's will to each Created Being who had appeared in reality, allowing them to freely visit this world or others—so long as they didn't recklessly misuse their powers.
Naturally, she discovered that those "killed" earlier by her Servants hadn't truly died—they'd simply returned to their own worlds with memories intact. Upon hearing Altair's ending, most of them smiled... (except for one mischievous, purple-haired individual who probably preferred to find her own way back anyway).
When all the cards were distributed, Ritsuka returned home and summoned everyone one last time.
"You're... leaving?!" they cried in shock.
"Can't you stay a little longer?" Souta asked anxiously.
Ritsuka shook her head. "No. I have to get back to Chaldea soon—and I want to visit other worlds too. So... this is goodbye."
The group fell silent, disappointment written on their faces. Setsuna gently nudged Altair forward.
Altair shuffled up to Ritsuka, looking incredibly hesitant. "Uh, well... about Setsuna... thanks. Not that it means anything—it's just... words, that's all!"
Ritsuka blinked, then burst out laughing at the classic tsundere response. She waved to them as her body dissolved into points of light, returning to Chaldea.
"See you!" "Come back soon!"
They waved until the last speck of light faded.
Note 1: Re:Creators arc complete! 🎉
Note 2: There'll be a short afterword, then maybe on to Campione!
Note 3: Tia-mama is ridiculously cute. I pulled her in gacha—[Larva/Tiamat], haha!