In the ruins of the collapsed Fantasy Tree, even though the scene is a little chaotic, a genuinely heartwarming reunion is unfolding.
Just minutes earlier, U-Olga Marie had been grandly declaring herself the Earth President and acting insufferably arrogant. Now she sat on the ground, clutching a handkerchief embroidered with the Animusphere crest, sobbing like a three-year-old who had suffered the worst injustice imaginable. The sight was utterly pathetic.
Surrounding her were her former subordinates and the old friends she had once been closest to.
"The Director is fine. She's full of energy again."
Mash knelt beside her, gently stroking her back. Tears shimmered in her eyes as she spoke in a voice as soft as a spring breeze. "Everyone's here… Senpai is here, and I'm here too. No one will ever hurt you again."
"Yes, Director."
Fujimaru Ritsuka crouched down next to her, wearing a reassuring yet slightly mischievous smile. "Chaldea's gotten a bit… okay, a lot livelier than before, but everyone's rooms are still exactly where they should be."
"And your favorite black tea and snacks too. New Director Goredolf—well, the current chubby one—his pastry skills are actually amazing."
"Who… who would want to eat anything made by that fatty?! I am Animusphere! I am… I am Beast VII! I only eat the finest things…!"
Olga Marie sobbed, instinctively trying to muster her usual haughty tone, but when she met Ritsuka's earnest gaze her voice softened. "…There really is black tea?"
"Yes, yes. Plenty of it."
Standing a little apart, Kirschtaria Wodime maintained a complicated silence.
Once Olga Marie's emotions had calmed slightly, he stepped forward slowly, dropped to one knee, and performed a perfect knight's salute.
"Mary."
He neither called her "Director" nor "Alien Goddess." He used the old nickname he had always used for her.
"I'm sorry I'm late."
Wodime raised his head. The eyes that had always shone with cool rationality were now filled with regret. "I once believed it was a necessary sacrifice for a greater purpose… but I was wrong."
"As your friend and as the captain of Team A, forcing you to endure a hundred years of loneliness and suffering alone was my greatest failure."
"Kirschtaria…"
Olga Marie stared at him blankly, still reeling from the overwhelming shock of "Wodime is alive" and "Wodime is apologizing to me."
Watching this heartwarming scene, Steve, standing nearby, wisely took a few steps back and hid his own contributions. Although he had been the one to tear open the wounds of truth, healing was best left to the people bound by deep bonds.
For him and Sion, who had joined midway, their only job now was to watch quietly, keep order, and enjoy the show.
However…
While some people were happy, others were not.
In the midst of this peaceful atmosphere, two figures found themselves in an extremely awkward situation.
They were former workers of the Alien God faction—Senji Muramasa and Gregory Rasputin.
The two men now stood about ten meters away from the crowd, staring at each other with bewildered expressions.
"…Hey, Father."
Muramasa scratched his red hair, looking like he had swallowed a fly. "This situation… feels kinda weird, doesn't it?"
"Our boss—the majestic 'Alien God' who descended to rule the Earth—how the hell did she end up like that?"
"And it looks like… she's planning to switch sides?"
"Hmm…"
Kotomine Kirei kept his mysterious bright smile, but the corners of his eyes twitched ever so slightly. "Indeed… an unexpected development."
"I thought we were heading for a grand divine war, yet it turned out to be a family drama scene."
"So what should we do now?"
Muramasa pointed at the lively Chaldea group. "Now that the boss has defected, is our contract still valid? Do we still have to kill someone?"
"Well…"
Kotomine Kirei tucked both hands into his sleeves and looked around. "According to the Holy Church's teachings, if a lost sheep returns to the right path, it is certainly something worth celebrating…"
"Now that the summoner has abandoned conquest, we Servants no longer have any reason to keep fighting…"
"Don't say things like that."
Steve's voice suddenly cut in.
He appeared behind the two men without warning, one hand resting on Muramasa's shoulder, wearing a salesman's grin.
"No need to worry, you two. Everything's crystal clear now."
"Look, the president ran off and the company went bankrupt. Of course the employees have to find new jobs."
"In our new Chaldea we offer free meals, free lodging, plus rare materials, QP, and all sorts of great perks."
"Especially you, Muramasa—there are tons of divine weapons waiting to be repaired, and we've got a chef named Emiya. You two will get along famously."
"Eh? I don't want to go to some trouble-filled place…"
Muramasa grumbled, but his body betrayed him; the hand gripping his knife loosened.
"Still, the contract here is void, so I don't want to waste the trip."
"And… that girl Mash's shield looks pretty worn out."
"As a blacksmith, seeing such an unfinished work pains me… Fine. I'll reluctantly go take a look."
With that, the arrogant swordsmith muttered "Kids these days really don't know how to treasure their weapons" and walked toward the Chaldea group.
In other words, only one person remained at the scene.
Kotomine Kirei.
He stood alone, watching his superior defect to the enemy, his colleagues leave one after another, and the enemy become the new employer.
A cold wind swept through, lifting a few dead leaves. The desolate atmosphere grew even heavier.
"…Oh dear."
Kotomine Kirei's smile finally cracked, replaced by an extremely subtle embarrassment—the kind of face one makes after biting into expired mapo tofu. It looked as if countless black lines had appeared on his forehead.
"This is… truly a most troubling situation."
He sighed softly.
On the surface he was a Servant summoned by U-Olga Marie, but his true "Master"—the true target of his loyalty—was the deeply hidden existence: Marisbury Animusphere.
To him, U-Olga Marie had been nothing more than a vessel to carry power, a puppet pushed onto the stage.
Now that puppet had developed its own will and was moving toward reconciliation with all of human history… This deviated from the script, yet it did not touch the core issue.
Infiltrating…?
Kotomine Kirei quietly began his own calculations.
A direct confrontation would be meaningless. Infiltrating the enemy camp and continuing to observe this farce as a bystander might be the option most beneficial to that person's interests—and most suited to his own twisted tastes.
"…Just as Mr. Steve said."
Kotomine Kirei immediately corrected his expression and donned the extremely fake smile unique to clergymen. "Since the Lord has decided, a faithful servant should naturally obey."
"I am also quite curious to see where this Chaldean ship—carrying both hope and despair—will ultimately sail."
"Welcome, welcome! We warmly welcome you!"
Steve clapped his hands, a meaningful mocking glint in his eyes. "But Father, the ship's mapo tofu reserves are limited, so pace yourself."
"And please don't suddenly burst into loud laughter in the corridors. You'll scare the children."
"Haha, just kidding."
With these two employees—each harboring their own hidden agendas—officially joining the team, the final piece of the Olympus puzzle clicked into place.
"Well then, this is the end!"
Steve walked to the front of the altar and gazed at the interstellar city. Though the Fantasy Tree was gone, the city remained beautiful and majestic.
"Ritsuka, Mash, and these two here."
Steve waved his hand.
Among the crowd, Macarios and Adele—members of the God-Slaying Alliance from the Greek Lostbelt—had been unable to say a single word since the beginning. They had simply watched everything in stunned silence, looking somewhat out of place.
They had believed that once the Fantasy Tree was cut down, they too would disappear along with the Lostbelt.
Yet, strangely, they were still standing here.
"Brother… we're not dead yet, right?"
Adele asked timidly.
"Dead? What nonsense are you spouting?"
Steve reached into his four-dimensional pocket and pulled out a retro-style device with a large red button in the center.
"As I said before, I'm a greedy savior… I don't like making choices, and I definitely don't like tragic endings."
"This world is beautiful. If everyone wants to keep living… I'll pack the entire world up and take it with me!"
"Are you ready? The moment to witness a miracle has arrived!"
Steve raised the device high and slammed the red button.
"Activate!"
Buzz—!!!
There was no destructive roar, no collapsing tremor.
The entire world was simply enveloped in a soft white light.
From this perspective, the earth, the sky, the city, the temples—every blade of grass and every brick in Olympus—began to take on a strange data-driven texture.
They did not vanish. Instead, like files being scanned into a computer, they transformed into countless dazzling particles of light. The particles swirled upward, rising into the sky before merging into an enormous invisible vortex.
"What… what is this?!"
Macarios stared at his glowing hand in shock. Instead of disappearing, he felt a strange weightlessness, as if he were being transferred.
"Where are we going?"
"To a new home."
Ritsuka stepped forward, firmly taking the twins' hands, a bright smile on her face. "To a new world where you can live freely—no godly oppression, no forced reincarnation."
"Lots of people are already waiting for you there. Russia's Yaga, the Nordic giants, the people of Qin… everyone's there."
"Really… is it okay?"
Adele's eyes filled with tears. "People like us… we shouldn't even exist…"
"Of course it is!"
Mash took Adele's other hand. "Because it was a promise Senpai and Steve made to you!"
The light grew brighter and brighter.
In the final moment, the twins' figures—along with the entire Olympus Lostbelt—rose into the sky as streams of light.
"Thank you… everyone… thank you so much!!"
"Goodbye! We'll be waiting over there!"
In the light filled with hope and joy, the children's voices echoed.
A few seconds later.
The light faded.
The once-magnificent mountain range of the interstellar city had completely vanished.
In its place stretched the familiar pale, desolate land—the planet's surface stained white.
A cold wind howled, kicking up white dust.
Though the scenery was bleak, everyone's hearts were filled with an unprecedented sense of fulfillment.
Because they knew the prosperous world had not been destroyed. It had been perfectly preserved inside a new world, becoming one more piece of the great puzzle of human civilization.
"Phew… It's all over. This is the end."
Steve put away the device, stretched, and turned to look at the ridiculously large team behind him.
Fujimaru Ritsuka, Mash, Olga Marie, Kirschtaria Wodime, Kadoc, Ophelia, Pepe, Hinako Akuta, Miyamoto Musashi, Senji Muramasa, Kotomine Kirei…
With this lineup, they didn't just have the power to save humanity—they could probably march straight into the Mage's Association or the Holy Church of all human history and start a war.
"Alright, everyone!"
Steve pointed to the imaginary submarine Shadow Border, parked nearby with its hatch open and waiting.
"The bus is a little crowded, but I'm sure everyone can squeeze in and find a seat… If it's really impossible, Father can sit on the roof and enjoy the wind, then chase the ship back to Chaldea."
"Next stop—the Wandering Sea! We're going home!"
"OOOOOOHHHH!!!"
Amid the cheers, the strongest and most eccentric Chaldean expeditionary force in history boarded the vehicle and began the journey home.
The Shadow Border's engine roared to life. Carrying laughter and joy, it sped toward the horizon.
In the corner of the rear passenger seat, Kotomine Kirei gazed out at the flowing albino landscape, a meaningful smile on his lips. He took a plate of mapo tofu from his pocket and quietly began to savor it.
"What a… fun trip."
Of course, while everyone on the train laughed and chatted as they left this place behind, a lonely silver-blue-skinned girl stood silently watching the lively New Chaldea train disappear into the distance, radiating a pitiful and inexplicable sense of solitude…
…
…
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