Kurumi Tokisaki's Planar Journey - Chapter 504
“Hiss!~”
The white divine flames burned the last Crest Worm into nothingness. ‘Nightmare’ scanned the surroundings with crimson electronic eyes, meticulously checking every possible hiding spot.
Zouken Matou’s malicious curses echoed faintly but dissipated with the disappearance of the last Crest Worm.
“Crack!~”
The armored hand of ‘Nightmare’ snapped a tree in two. The tree’s heart had been hollowed out, riddled with holes from the worms.
“Master, you are too suspicious.”
The divine flames incinerated the tree to ashes as ‘Nightmare’s’ thrusters powered up, leaving the forest.
“Master, there’s no sign of Zouken Matou’s presence in Fuyuki City anymore.”
Kurumi was examining the data on the virtual screen when she glanced at the chibi Red Queen.
“And the surrounding areas of Fuyuki?”
“We’ve expanded our scans to the nearby regions, and there are no traces of Crest Worms. Zouken Matou is truly dead.”
The chibi Red Queen’s large eyes spun around as if she had thought of a naughty idea. She asked Kurumi, “Why don’t you try entering your divine state again? Didn’t the two Counter Forces once grant you ‘permissions’? If you could use the ‘rules,’ it would be easy to verify if he’s dead.”
Kurumi rolled her eyes. “I’m not confident I can maintain my conscious mind in the divine state.”
Red Queen sighed in tandem. “Master, has the divine seed in your body shown any signs of shrinking?”
“No.”
The chibi Red Queen rubbed her chin. Her tiny hand and big head were comically mismatched yet somehow charming.
“That shouldn’t be. Each time you enter the divine state, the divine seed’s erosion is noticeable. By now, it should have consumed some of its divine power, right?”
“Who knows?”
Kurumi responded absentmindedly, her gaze on the screen filled with information about Saber, making her eyes blur.
“The last one…”
A fervor burned in her eyes. Although she was influential in her divine state, Kurumi had grown weary of it!
She hoped to acquire ‘All the World’s Evils’ soon to remove the divine seed from her body!
‘Nightmare’ flew towards the outskirts of Fuyuki City.
Kirei Kotomine had already killed Irisviel. Meanwhile, Kiritsugu Emiya had received some intel. At this moment, he was with Saber, heading towards the Holy Grail.
As they traveled, an awkward and somewhat eerie silence hung between them.
Every time Saber wanted to speak, the words stuck in her throat.
She blamed herself for not protecting Irisviel. Saber believed that this tragedy wouldn’t have happened if she hadn’t gone out with Kurumi!
The proud King of Heroes had died at Kurumi’s hands. Saber was silent. She had a rough idea of her combat prowess; without her ‘Ideal King’s Canopy,’ she wouldn’t have stood a chance against the King of Heroes.
And that man had perished by Kurumi’s hand! The commotion that night was enormous. Ordinary people only noticed the superficial phenomena—the collapse of the bridge and the fires.
But the range of magical energy was terrifying! The shattered space and the giant reversed tree of light were awe-inspiring!
Then, the Matou house was consumed by a great fire, and Matou Kariya disappeared.
Only Matou Kariya never bothered to hide his presence in the Holy Grail War, living openly in the Matou residence.
Now…
Saber realized that among the seven Servants, she might be the last one left. This thought was quickly replaced by confusion.
If she was the last Servant standing, did that mean she had won the Holy Grail War?
Saber dismissed the notion, recalling Kurumi’s words about the ‘Holy Grail.’ Could it grant her wish?
As they neared their destination, Saber grew increasingly anxious. Kurumi had no residual magical energy or divine aura.
“Screech!~”
Kiritsugu Emiya stopped the car, stepped out, lit a cigarette, and started walking inside.
Saber frowned and quickly got out, magical energy swirling around her, forming her armor. Grasping her sword, she felt the cold hilt in her hand.
Her emerald green eyes scanned the surroundings, ready to catch the slightest movement.
The place was eerie, with nothing but weeds.
No signs of life, completely different from what she had expected. Kurumi wasn’t here either.
‘Is the Holy Grail not here?’
This thought grew in Saber’s mind. Otherwise, why hadn’t Kurumi come here? Wasn’t she supposed to return all the Servants to the Throne of Heroes? Wasn’t she supposed to ‘purify the Holy Grail’?
Her heart pounded in her chest. As a knight, Saber had excellent control over her body.
Forcing down her anxiety, her heartbeat returned to normal. Seeing Kiritsugu Emiya walk further without care, Saber couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow.
Her armor was tattered, blood clinging to it, both fresh and dried.
The girl’s golden hair was disheveled, not floating gracefully but looking lonely.
Her sword, stained black and red with blood, pointed downward, embedded in the body of a fallen enemy.
The sky was a dull yellow, and looking over the battlefield, it seemed she was the only one still standing.
Her eyes grew moist for some reason, but she couldn’t cry. She was a king, bearing the weight of a nation!
Struggling to her feet, she attempted to survey the area, but fatigue quickly washed over her body.
“Thud~”
She collapsed next to a corpse, supporting herself with her sword and taking deep breaths to stave off the exhaustion.
What’s happening to me?
Lifting her head, she smelled the spicy scent of blood carried by the wind.
The girl was numb to it; the scent was too familiar. She had spent so much time on the battlefield that she had become accustomed to it.
Returning home, the fresh air of the fields felt strange to her.
Her once fair face was now marred by smoke and fire. A scar ran across her forehead, old and scabbed over.
But the bloodstains remained, forming a horrifying mark across her face!
It ran from the middle of her left eye, making her look eerie.
What should she do?
Confusion clouded her mind, and she felt close to death. Her magical energy was depleted, and her body was covered in wounds.
The battlefield was filled with violent residual energy and free-floating energies in the air!
Heavily injured, absorbing such chaotic energy would be suicidal!
She thought of her country, her people.
She thought of Guinevere, of Lancelot…
If she could have another chance, she would handle everything perfectly! With the lessons learned, her country and her people would flourish!
But… what about her country? Her soldiers?
“Ah!——————”
A scream tore from her lips until her voice was hoarse. When she could no longer make a sound, she stopped.
She sat on the ground, her broken armor clinking, some pieces of metal falling apart.
“Do you want another chance?”
“Who?!”
The girl was alert, her trembling hand reaching for her sword.
“Do you want your country to flourish forever?”
Her expression turned serious. Even in her current state, she could still discern reality!
She saw no one around.
Struggling to her feet, she held her sword with both hands, but her wrists were unsteady, making the sword wobble, more for show than threat.
“Do you want…”
Fear chilled her heart. Her blood-stained sword no longer shone brightly. The voice might belong to a powerful mage like Merlin.
It sounded neither male nor female, and she couldn’t identify its intent.
In her current state, any attack spell from the speaker could quickly…
“Do you want to go back and change everything?”
She froze, her mind flooded with countless memories!
‘Holy Grail, Kurumi, Kiritsugu Emiya, Command Seals, Irisviel, Diarmuid, Iskandar…’
Faces flashed before her eyes, and she collapsed to the ground.
Using her bloodied hands, she clutched her head, leaving red marks on her golden hair.
“This… is all real? No! It’s all fake! Damn it! People can’t go back in time! It’s all fake! Damn it! Get out of my head!”
Suddenly, divine power descended, healing all her wounds. If Kurumi were here, she would be astounded.
This divine power was of the exact origin as hers!
It couldn’t be Odin! The divine seed in her body had been altered upon entering the Fate/Zero universe, making it unique!
Unfortunately, Kurumi was not present to witness this.
The girl stood in a daze, overwhelmed by the influx of memories.
‘Could there really be gods?’
The girl was silent. For ordinary people, a powerful mage could be called a ‘god.’
But for her, what could be considered a ‘god’?
Unknowingly, she was influenced, subconsciously believing the information transmitted to her without feeling anything amiss.
A contract appeared before her. After carefully reading it, her emerald eyes gazed at the sky.
“I want to go back!”
The contract burst into a dazzling light as she spoke, enveloping her!
In the glow, she muttered,
“Even if I lose everything…”
‘Nightmare’ left Fuyuki City, systematically examining the surrounding areas.
Meanwhile, Kurumi released her spiritual power. Even if the Crest Worms were buried deep underground, they couldn’t escape her detection!
“Ding~”
A clear chime sounded in her ears, and Kurumi narrowed her eyes. She recognized this sound all too well.
“Reincarnator No. 000, you have a new side mission. Please open the mission panel. The mission will commence upon reading.”
The voice was mechanically monotonous. Kurumi was used to it, although she wondered why the main god would issue a side mission on the last night. As long as it benefited her, she would accept it.
She projected the mission panel onto the virtual screen so the Red Queen could see it.
Current World: Fate/Zero
Main Mission: Eliminate all Servants (Remaining: 1)
Side Mission: ‘Curse from Hell’ (Completed)
Side Mission: ‘Dreaming Back a Thousand Years’ (Upcoming)
Mission Description: Abandon emotions and bear the burden of the nation. Follow destiny guard order but remain unacknowledged. In an era of ignorance and desire, overly idealistic wishes meet resistance. A soul from a thousand years ago, abandoning everything just to witness a prosperous age.
Mission Objective: Send Artoria Pendragon back to the “past” and fulfill her wish.
Success: The primary mission automatically completes, suppresses ‘All the World’s Evils,’ and increases the final evaluation.
Failure: No penalty.
Note: The next divine state will retain self-awareness and allow rule manipulation to enhance dream realism.
Kurumi’s narrowed eyes made her crimson pupils appear even more profound. This side mission reeked of conspiracy.
The quotation marks around “past” clearly indicate the main god’s deceit!
To top it off, the mission required sending Artoria into a dream world!
But Artoria wouldn’t know that! Even if she succeeded and left without regrets, it was all fake!
If Kurumi didn’t maintain the dream, Artoria’s newly built kingdom would immediately collapse!
And the next divine state… although she knew the main god had suppression methods, this deceitful main god…
Chibi Red Queen blinked and clicked her tongue twice, “Poor little knight girl. Master, will you abandon this mission?”
“How could I?” Kurumi’s expression turned sly. “Artoria has just one unresolved issue. She hasn’t seen through it herself. Entering the dream might be the best chance to cure her.”
“An unresolved issue?” Red Queen pouted. “She should see a psychologist, like that psycho Kotomine Kirei.”
“Alright, let’s locate Artoria first. Once we’ve scouted the surrounding areas of Fuyuki, we’ll find her!”
Red Queen’s eyes lit up, “Master, when you fully enter your divine state, can you show me?”
“That depends on how much the main god suppresses ‘All the World’s Evils.'”
Kurumi sighed, “I’ll try to contain the outbreak of ‘All the World’s Evils.’ Hopefully, it won’t result in as many deaths as in the anime.”
Red Queen nodded, “Alaya is the collective consciousness of humanity. Your mission specifies not harming ordinary beings. If you minimize the damage from ‘All the World’s Evils,’ it could boost your final evaluation.”
“If we return to the Marvel universe, we can mass-produce energy reactors and various serums to trade with the main god for reincarnation points. Then, you could unlock ‘Beta’ level exchange privileges.”
Kurumi nodded slightly, agreeing with the Red Queen’s plan. But she had a question: Was the main god preparing for something or selling these items to natives of different timelines?
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