Time passed.
The journey continued amid ice, snow, and war.
With Steve's useful tools and the Chaldea team's efforts, what had been life-threatening each step now became just a little bit easier.
But, no matter how difficult the journey, fate inevitably lodges the wheels in the trench named choice.
…
…
…
Moscow — In Front of the Kremlin
The colossal hollow tree Orochi towered between sky and earth like a holy pillar. Beneath it, the King of the Lostbelt stood, giant as a mammoth, roaring so powerfully it seemed to shatter souls, flinging thunderous questions at his insignificant human adversaries.
"…Answer me! Master of mankind's history!"
The Tsar's roar echoed through the blizzard, each word coming with the force of thunder.
"What value does your world have? What gives you the right to trample our existence and deny our history?!"
"To cut down the Tree of Imagination would be to exterminate all Yaga from Russian soil!"
"Can you bear the crime of annihilating an entire world?!"
The questions struck Fujimaru's heart like a hammer. Her young face turned deathly pale; her hand curled around the Command Seals trembled; the once steely gaze was now full of unrest and terror.
Along the journey, she had seen the Yaga's hardships and the efforts Patxi had made just to survive. These were not mere data or NPCs, but living, breathing people — beings who could cry and laugh.
To restore "normal life" for her own side, she might have to rob these people of their future.
What separated such actions from those of the Alien God, who'd destroyed humanity's history to begin with?
"W… w…"
Her lips trembled, unable to form words.
The foundation of justice was breaking apart, leaving only pure survival competition and the crushing moral burden that came with it. Just as this despair threatened to smother her—
Bang!
A gunshot split the frozen air.
It was only a single bullet from an old rifle — no threat to the Tsar — but like a roar, it woke everyone from the trance.
Always seen as an opportunistic, ruthless, selfish Yaga, Patxi now stood, bloody and battered, before Ritsuka. Shielding her from the Tsar's magical backlash, half his body stained red, he stared at her, his eyes shining brighter than the phantom tree behind him.
"Raise your head! Fujimaru Ritsuka!!"
He bellowed, his voice echoing with the power of his soul.
"Why are you hesitating? Because you pity us? Because you think we're innocent? Don't make me laugh!"
"Look at this world! At this frozen land of blizzards, slaughter and starvation!"
"Here, the weak don't even have the right to scream! To survive, we must become ugly beasts—devouring our own kind!"
He grabbed Ritsuka by the collar, forcing her to look into his hideously beast-like face.
"But—you're different! You told me about your world… of blooming flowers, warm breezes, of peaceful days where you don't need to kill just to eat… What a wonderful world that must be!"
"If such a world really exists… then prove it! Prove that mankind's history is worth something! Prove that your world deserves to exist more than our hell!"
"Even if you must step over our corpses — you must live on with a smile! You have that right. You have that duty!"
"So stop making that victim's face! For us who have fought so hard just to survive, it's the greatest insult!"
Tears welled in Ritsuka's eyes, but they were not the tears of confusion. Patxi's words burned away all her hypocrisy and hesitation, leaving only a pure and unwavering will to survive and sense of responsibility.
Yes…
This is war.
Not for justice, but for survival.
She could not stop here — not for the dead, nor for those who still dream of seeing tomorrow.
"…Thank you, Patxi."
Ritsuka wiped her tears, lifting her head once more.
Her gaze transformed — now sharp and filled with determination — the eyes of the Last Master of Humanity who had survived seven Singularities and countless do-or-die moments.
"I want to live… We must live."
"So—That's why I must cut down the Tree of Imagination! I must deny this Lostbelt!"
She called out the Command Spell, and her voice resounded to the heavens.
"Servants! Prepare your Noble Phantasms—!"
"Ahem…"
Just as the situation reached its tragic climax, with both sides about to stake everything, a languid yet captivating voice suddenly broke through everyone's communication link, cutting off Ritsuka's command.
"I didn't mean to interrupt this magnificent drama of awakening, but I was truly moved by the words of this Yaga warrior…"
Far above, on the bridge of the ship, Steve gently set down his tea and gave a meaningful smile. Watching the girl on the screen who had chosen to shoulder the weight of sin, he looked on with a brief flicker of admiration in his eyes.
"Nevertheless, Ritsuka, as your adviser and a bit of a time traveler myself, I have to remind you—"
"Steve?!"
Ritsuka was stunned, the wave of tragic tension abruptly breaking.
"The so-called rejection of the Lostbelt' does mean this mistaken history will be corrected."
"But who said that correcting history must always mean killing everyone?"
There was a reassuring arrogance to Steve's voice.
"Cutting down the Tree of Imagination just cuts off the energy source for this world's expansion as a loser's belt. As for the lives of the people here…"
He paused, as if talking about a simple moving operation, his tone light.
"In fact, I have a special method ready."
"The principle is a bit complex and would take three hours to explain, but simply put: at the moment the Tree disappears, I can relocate all the residents of this Lostbelt—and their villages and memories—to a safe place."
"They'll no longer be able to remain on Earth's surface, but they'll continue living in another world and continue their history."
"Why…?"
Ritsuka was dazed, blinking as she tried to process the information overload.
"So… nobody has to die?"
"Not only will no one die, even Mr. Patxi won't perish."
Steve added, "Naturally, you'll still need to bring down that big guy first. My method only activates at the very moment this world's concept collapses."
In that instant, the world seemed to freeze. The burden of mass murder that had weighed on Ritsuka's heart was blown away by Steve's offhand revelation, replaced by a sense of ease and hope she hadn't felt in a long time as Master of Chaldea.
Just as in the first singularity: fix the anomaly, defeat the enemy, reclaim the Grail, then everyone is saved, everything returns to normal.
No one has to be sacrificed. No one has to bear any sin. They just have to fight for a happy ending.
"…Haha…"
Ritsuka found herself laughing—freely, from the bottom of her heart.
She turned to look at Patxi, who was still baffled, then clenched her fist.
"Patxi, did you hear that?! We don't have to choose anymore — we can have both!!"
The girl looked again upon the colossal Tsar, but this time, there was no gloom in her eyes—only pure, burning determination.
"So now… there's even less reason to lose!"
"All teams, begin combat!"
"Objective: Defeat the King of the Lostbelt—and save everyone in this world!!"