Chapter 48: Overcoming the Evils of Humanity
Under Gudako's somewhat blank stare, Da Vinci continued.
"According to the results of the Sheba investigation, the basic structure of the enemy's Singularity has been roughly identified. The entire Singularity is a small world. If Chaldeas is a miniature sandbox of Earth, then you could say the enemy territory is a miniature sandbox of the universe—though, even then, the scale is quite vast. There are no other celestial bodies inside, and the structure is incredibly simple, but there is an immeasurable vortex of magical energy at the center of the enemy's Singularity."
Romani also spoke up at this moment: "In short, the center of the vortex is where Goetia is located. Now that we understand the situation, the rest is simple: first, defeat Goetia's subordinates, then defeat Goetia, and finally, retreat from the Singularity. How about that? Isn't it super simple?"
"..."
Both Gudako and Mash were silent. Only Shirou nodded along.
"Mhm, then let's head out immediately."
Hearing this, both Gudako and Mash were stunned. "Ah-leh, ah-leh? Orihara-senpai, are we really going to just go in like this?"
"Can't we call some more people to help?"
Hearing their remarks, Shirou replied directly: "Then how about this? I'll connect to the Throne of Heroes and call over all the Heroic Spirits I know to help."
At this, everyone lost their composure. "Eh——!?"
"Are you serious!?"
"You're joking, right? You're joking, right!?"
"Is that even possible!?"
"Fou, fou-uu!"
Shirou shrugged. "Can we leave now?"
"..."
The Command Room was quiet for a moment, and finally, Romani pressed several buttons. "Everyone, get ready!"
The next moment, the familiar female broadcast voice rang out. 「Rayshift system initiating——」 「Commencing Rayshift——」 「Time remaining until Rayshift: 3, 2, 1... All processes complete.」 「——Execution start, final Grand Order——」
...
Grand Time Temple. The 'Demon God King' Goetia sat upon his throne, overlooking everything.
"What I have seen is a slaughter too hideous to behold, and what I have heard is a cacophony too unbearable to listen to. The Clairvoyance that perceives the past and the future is etched with all truths."
"We do not possess the skill to close our eyes; we do not have the function to block our ears. Thus, we can only watch. Thus, we can only listen. And the conclusion we have reached is—"
"Ugly!"
"Extremely ugly!"
"Forced to watch the extremely unpleasant facts, forced to memorize the extremely ugly ecology of humanity. After all that, the thought of resolving this wretched environment and situation is a natural consequence."
"However, what should be done? Even if the filth is removed, humanity will immediately spawn new filth. This premise is wrong. As long as life still exists, this error cannot be corrected."
"Then—let us begin anew; we must begin anew. Start from the beginning and recast everything into a perfect form. Not from history, not from the ecosystem, not from the continents, not from time, but from nothingness."
"We have devised a plan to recreate this planet from scratch."
"To do so, we need vast resources; we need an enormous amount of firewood."
"The heat generated by burning all life on this planet is not nearly enough if collected only once. It must be recovered from the future across the past, entirely. One second, one minute, one hour, one day, one month, one year. While returning to the past, recover the heat generated during these times."
"By this method, the objective can be achieved: recovering approximately 3,000 years' worth of the 'planet's maximum heat.' When all of this is recovered, managed, and controlled, my great undertaking shall be achieved."
"O, my brethren scattered upon the earth, write our anger here and provide a track for future existences to continue forward. Build the temple! Overlap the rings of light! To incinerate Human Order, all resources are needed. To forget Human Order, all time is needed. Seek the path to the Final Singularity. Here, our hope lies!"
...
The body was dispersed into countless spiritrons and then gathered back into a self. Body, consciousness, soul, and emotions—all were dispersed and then reunited.
Shirou opened his eyes, and what met his gaze was the vast, boundless sea of stars in the universe. A brand-new realm. This place did not belong to any world; it was a specially
created, independently existing domain, as if situated in the cracks of the universe. The surrounding sea of stars was the complete exterior view of this world. Then, there was the existence that looked like an island at the center of the universe, crisscrossed and tightly surrounded by distorted Demon God Pillars. The aura of darkness filled the space, and on the land formed by the Demon God Pillars stood a stone gate that looked like a Triumphal Arch. —The Seventy-Two Demon Gods.
"So this is it..." Gudako and Mash scanned their surroundings with curious and vigilant eyes.
Romani's voice came out through the communicator: "It is undoubtedly the Temple of Time. The magical energy reactions over there are the same annoying reactions measured in Mesopotamia. In other words, the reactions of the BEAST are filling the entire space!"
BEAST is the Beast of Original Sin, the Evils of Humanity—a great catastrophe rejected by human history. It is a collective term for the seven disasters that harm humanity, totaling the Seven Evils of Humanity.
So-called Evils of Humanity are, in essence, the love for humanity itself. The BEASTs do not wish to destroy humanity out of malice. Because malice is only temporary and becomes thinner the more it is used, the real threat to humanity is the very wish to protect Human Order, the spirit that desires a better future, baring its fangs at the current peace.
Although the Evils of Humanity are "evil," they absolutely cannot be eradicated; they are generated as long as humanity exists, yet humanity must overcome them.
The term "Evils of Humanity" means "evils meant for humanity to overcome," not "evils that destroy humanity." Since BEASTs are disasters born from humanity's animalistic nature, they are called "Beasts" (BEASTs). They possess the characteristic of independent manifestation, capable of appearing in the world alone; they also possess resistance to charm, as well as resistance to attacks from parallel worlds or time regression—also known as resistance to Fated Instant Death.
"We already know the reason for Goetia's birth. Now, there is no need for the opponent to hide anymore." Da Vinci's voice sounded leisurely from the communicator.
Gudako swallowed hard, looking somewhat nervous: "This should be the temple, no doubt, but it looks a bit strange..." Although called a temple, the architecture under their feet did not look like one; it was more like the roots of some enormous plant floating in the universe.
Read ahead (60 chapters) by supporting me on buymeacoffee com/varietl or ko-fi edwriting