Xyrin Empire
Chapter 511: Farewell?

Chapter 511: Chapter 511: Farewell?

Everything had finally ended.

Unbeknownst to all of humanity, the world had nearly skirted the threshold of the netherworld. A world-ending threat had been invisibly dissolved, causing no more ripples than a few inexplicable explosions in Fuyuki City and the mysterious disappearance of some individuals. Perhaps human society would be briefly abuzz with speculation, but all would eventually become mere gossip among the elderly enjoying their tea at sunset, soon to fade away.

"Are you... leaving?"

In a forest outside Fuyuki City, a group of people who had experienced all of this gathered, led by the Tohsaka Family’s young mistress. The girl, usually so strong-willed and sharp-tongued, now wore a deeply reluctant expression, looking so childlike that it could startle any onlooker.

Autumn leaves fluttered down in a cold breeze throughout the little grove, filling the air with an atmosphere of melancholic parting. Silence befell everyone for a moment.

"Under the cover of paternal love, anything can be made adorable," quipped Sandora in a voice quiet yet somehow audible to everyone.

And then everyone just ’oh’d.

"I suppose it’s time to go home," I said, rubbing the head of the girl who had strangely been hit by my paternal halo, uncertain whether to cry or to laugh. "Besides, it’s not like we’ll never see each other again."

"Eh?" Rin was taken aback and then suddenly realized that she seemed to be the only one looking sad at the scene.

"I left a transmission device in your basement. If you want to come over, you can use it to get to us; the passcode is 1234. The instruction manual is on the small table next to it. The repair hotline is also written there. For the first three years, there’s free maintenance and lifetime after-sales service, including free replacement of the filter net. With the serial number on the machine body, you can also enter a raffle to win either a three-day two-night ticket to the Northrend Ice Sculpture Exhibition or a limited edition Ironforge cool iron hammer."

Tohsaka: "..."

A few seconds later, with her face as red as a persimmon, the young mistress finally exploded, "Why is it that I’m the only one who doesn’t know about something in my own house!? You’ve all clearly been keeping it a secret from me—including you, that bastard Emiya!"

"You were counting money inside the house at that time," Emiya scratched his head innocently, "Sasaki even got hit by a lamp when he knocked on the door."

"And I was the one who paid for the lamp," lamented the Swordsman with a bump on his head, shrugging his shoulders with a wry expression.

Tohsaka’s face was now so red it could light up, hey!~!~

"Hmph, I don’t care about you guys!" Tohsaka, finally resorting to an ostrich mentality under everyone’s stifled laughter, declared, "You all treat me like a fool!"

"Then, let’s address the remaining issues."

Surveying everyone present—Emiya, Saber, Sakura, Rider, Ilya, Berserker, Kagari Ge Mu, Caster, Sasaki Kojiro, and even a still pouting Tohsaka and Archer, as well as the bored Lancer yawning and the indignant Golden Shining being hugged by Little Baobao—all the magicians and Servants were before me.

"Remaining issues?" Emiya looked at me puzzled, then he was surprised to find that, represented by Sakura, Medusa, Medea, Sasaki, Cu Chulainn, and the girl called Gilgamesh, who always spoke bluntly but was constantly oppressed and bullied by a little girl, lined up neatly on our side.

In an instant, the people who had been standing together seemed to have split into two distinct camps.

"What’s happening..." Saber asked in astonishment, then noticed that those Heroic Spirits standing opposite her were undergoing changes at the same time.

Blue and white light emerged from beneath their feet, gradually sweeping over their entire bodies, forming delicate, scale-like crystals at the tips of their hair and fingers that in no way detracted from their beauty, and at the same time, their magic power was multiplying, reaching full form in an instant!

"About that giant moon that nearly destroyed the world," I sighed, "it is actually our ancient device that went out of control due to disrepair and caused damage to this world, for which I deeply regret."

Tohsaka and the others fell silent for a while, then suddenly whispered, "We had a feeling early on that you had some connection to that thing, well, this is probably not the main point you want to discuss, right?"

"Yes," I nodded, "let’s get to the point then, the so-called Holy Grail War has been confirmed to be nothing but a farce revolving around the Giant Moon, and the so-called Holy Grail... Ilya, you must have realized that it will never appear again as the Inner World has collapsed, the world’s magic system has been rewritten. The Spirit Veins needed to summon it are still there, but as the definition of magic has subtly changed, the Holy Grail will henceforth be only a memory among magicians."

The silver-haired little girl nodded her head.

"Since the Holy Grail has disappeared at the law level, the Heroic Spirits summoned by the Holy Grail system naturally can’t exist in this world for long, and soon, the depletion of magic power and the disappearing of the remaining Holy Grail’s power will make them vanish one after another."

"Saber!" Emiya, clearly unaware of this, asked, "Is this true?"

The golden-haired girl nodded: "Shi Lang, this is the truth."

"Did you think that after the Holy Grail War, all the summoned Heroic Spirits would be able to escape battle and live happily in the present world?" Archer gave Emiya a sidelong glance, his tone as ironic and sardonic as ever, but it was unclear whether he was mocking Emiya or his former self who once harbored similar thoughts.

"It’s true, we don’t have much time left," Saber said with some regret, "but after experiencing so much, these memories are also a kind of gain."

"But things are more complicated," I sighed, shaking my head, "haven’t you who contracted with the Suppression Force noticed that you’re no longer able to feel its presence?"

As soon as these words came out, aside from the few Heroic Spirits on our side who already knew the situation, everyone else was taken aback, then their faces filled with horror.

Tohsaka’s neck was almost stiff as she struggled to turn her head to look at her Servant to get a negative answer to this absurd question, but the latter gave her a wry smile.

"It’s unexpected that you aliens would understand our world’s origin power so well," Archer shrugged, "I originally planned to keep it from my own master and wait quietly to vanish, but now you’ve exposed it all."

"Your concerns are unnecessary, the two unlucky beings of the Suppression Force are doing well; they are merely resting," I revealed the whole truth as Saber and the others stared in amazement, "Because of the impact of the Red Moon, the Management Gods of this world have suffered heavy damage, and they now need to recuperate. I have been in contact with them and have gained their understanding. Now the mystic power on our side will take responsibility for protecting this world’s energy system, and some Heroic Spirits, as of today, will be transferred under the name of the Empire."

To say we saved the world, we eliminated the Giant Moon and seemed to have accomplished that goal, but the trouble that followed was far greater than just that.

I’m really starting to wonder if that Yanfeng Qili secretly crossed over from another plane, even though he had been stripped of all his magical powers and contentedly returned from Dingdang with a whole stack of world root-related materials to study, thereby exiting the stage of the mystical world. Yet, his crazy conjectures are now being confirmed one after another—Red Moon did indeed go berserk, and the two major Suppression Forces of the Fate world have indeed changed due to the appearance of Red Moon.

Of course, it’s not like what he said, that they merged together to become the moon of the Inner World. Instead, due to the latter’s strong energy interference, they both fell into a deep sleep many years ago.

They... uh, perhaps I should say they, had been struggling against the power of Red Moon for a very long time, but with limited power in the Suppression Forces themselves, the Red Moon kept growing in madness. After a final battle, the world’s two major Suppression Forces not only failed to destroy Red Moon but also fell into a deep sleep due to severe injuries, and all along, they had only been negotiating with Heroic Spirits through the remnants of their instinctual consciousness.

Once I successfully shut down "Red Moon," the power of these two world roots gradually regained consciousness, and Dingdang also made contact with them.

I’m not clear on the specifics of the negotiation, but in the end, the overly weakened Suppression Forces recognized Dingdang as an Upper True God, and they sought our protection. In exchange, the Xyrin Empire gained some jurisdiction over the Heroic Spirits—of course, it was just a part, as the current Suppression Forces truly don’t have enough strength to support all the Heroic Spirit armies. This is also why they couldn’t even prevent mere humans from exploiting poor mystical replicas to find loopholes in the world system, summoning Heroic Spirits as Servants for combat. Giving a portion of the Heroic Spirits to the Empire gains a more powerful backing to protect themselves and also alleviates their pressure. For the Fate world’s Alaya and Gaia, it’s a win-win situation.

For me, of course, it’s a huge stroke of luck. Look here, our venerable ancestors carelessly littered non-biodegradable trash, damaging someone’s flowers and plants. We just casually sorted and recycled that trash. As a token of gratitude, they even packaged up half of their flowerbeds as a gift to us. Now, this is the legendary economics!

It’s just like the beautiful notion I had at the beginning: to package up and entice away the great army of Heroic Spirits.

As a result, Saber and the Heroic Spirits have now lost contact with their previous boss. Until the list of Heroic Spirits to become citizens of the Empire is finalized, they are entirely masterless "Free Warriors." Panic is inevitable for them, but after I explained the situation, their panic turned into shock.

"You can’t mean... that’s really true?" Even the composed Red A is now full of terror, looking at us as if we were monsters, "Negotiate with the world’s Suppression Forces?! You... what on earth are you..."

"The pinnacle of science is myth," Sandora shrugged, "We merely sought to understand everything and, ultimately, became beings that could stand shoulder to shoulder with gods. Although your world’s two Suppression Forces are considered gods, in reality, they might not even be as mysterious as me and Ah Jun."

Not to mention this little creature blissfully hugging a Sugar Ball on my shoulder.

Such an astonishing tale, naturally, no one would believe it. However, Saber and Red A, just about to speak, froze on the spot. Their former boss was indeed the world’s Suppression Force, and just now, at that very moment, they received a transmission from their former superior.

The message was very brief and clear at a glance. It was drafted by the Imperial High Level and jointly announced by the two Suppression Forces: "That’s it, we’ve been acquired."

If there were still any doubts about my words, then as Heroic Spirits, how could there be errors in the in-house message sent from Alaya personally?

Besides, how did I even come up with such an exasperating notice?

"That’s the way it is, because we have a special relationship, I told you in advance," I grinned with the face of a salesperson, "Your former bosses have now been partially acquired by the Empire... as temporarily free employees, you’ve been granted the precious right to freely choose your employment. While you have the right to choose which department to join, I highly recommend the Xyrin Empire Military Department. Imperial Soldiers have lucrative benefits, rotating holidays, various statutory bonuses, plus comprehensive insurance. Those who perform excellently might even receive a hand-copied CD signed by Sicaro, and if you fall in battle, you may receive personal resurrection from the Life Goddess herself! House prices are high these days, aren’t they? Sign a contract with the Empire Military Department and I could offer you a house near the Tree of Life, including water, electricity, heating, internet, property management with a parking spot, a fully furnished interior, plus permanent property rights. Come on, Saber, no more hesitation, sign this contract, and become a Magic Girl..."

"Bang!"

Sandora, you hit hard!

After grinding her teeth and glaring at me for what seemed like an eternity, Sandora finally tugged at the corner of her mouth and said, "Don’t mind my Ah Jun, he’s having a fit again. The situation is actually quite simple: the world’s two major Suppression Forces are now extremely weak and need our protection. As part of the cooperation, some Heroic Spirits will become Imperial Soldiers. Originally, these Heroic Spirits were supposed to be randomly selected, but since we’ve now met, if possible, Saber, and Archer, I hope you can become our allies."

"Hey, hey, hey!" Tohsaka suddenly interrupted our conversation with a loud voice. Miss Tohsaka was waving her arms, her face full of disbelief, "I mean, even if we dismiss the absurd notion of a Centaurus photographer, don’t joke about this kind of topic! The Suppression Force of the world has been severely damaged, seeking help from aliens, how could that even be possible?"

Tohsaka’s skepticism was natural. As a magician who had received the most orthodox magical education since childhood, Rin had an almost religious conviction of the greatness and supremacy of the world’s two major Suppression Forces. From the Mystic perspective, it’s no exaggeration to say that Alaya and Gaia are gods in the eyes of all magicians. And now, this group of people in front of her was actually discussing the divinities of their own faith as if they were stricken with a serious illness and had to sell their company to pay for medical bills—didn’t this topic fall under the category of the grotesque?

However, Miss Tohsaka’s questioning was met with a helpless nod from her own servant.

"It’s true, he said. Although it’s incomprehensible, but..."

"Wow!" This time, Tohsaka was utterly astonished, her gaze towards me full of stupefaction. Clearly, the poor girl’s brain had turned to mush.

"Big brother, big brother! Where’s Ilya? Why are Ilya and Berserker left out?!" The silver-haired little loli didn’t care about anything to do with suppressing or not suppressing forces. What she was thinking about was always unexpectedly simple, "If big brother can communicate with the World Root, can you also let Ilya and Berserker..."

"Of course I haven’t forgotten you," I patted the little girl on the head. "And your body, you don’t think we know?"

Ilya’s expression suddenly stiffened.

She was a tool made by the Einzbern Family, an artificial human, specially born for the descent of the Holy Grail. Even before her birth, her entire nervous system had undergone magical transformation in preparation to receive the Grail, such a transformation being a foolish attempt by the still-naïve Human Civilization to challenge nature, naturally not likely to lead to any good results. Ilya’s body would never grow, but she wasn’t an eternally young loli like Pandora who remains unchanged for hundreds of thousands of years. On the contrary, her lifespan was already nearing its end.

The poor artificial body was ultimately full of flaws.

But what was the girl thinking, not even uttering half a word to me about it until now?

"Silly girl, sometimes I really don’t know whether you’re genuinely dumb or just pretending to be. With our technology, the cost of recreating a body for you wouldn’t even amount to what Sandora spends on breakfast. You’re always calling me big brother, but when it’s crucial, don’t you know to turn to your brother for help?"

I could see Ilya’s eyes gradually reddening.

"The preparations for creating a new body are already in place," I said, pressing Ilya’s little head. "In a few days, an Imperial Soldier will come to take you to our base, okay? To be a qualified little sister, you need to learn to rely on your brother when it’s crucial, if you want to be spoiled, that is."

Behind me, Pandora and Visca began to glare at Ilya, joining Little Baobao as the second name to be seen as an external threat now written into the hard drives of the two reluctant sisters.

"So, what about your decision?" Turning my gaze back to Saber and Archer, I waited for the two’s response. Although Sakura’s Crystal transformation could directly convert any Heroic Spirit into an Avalon Heroic Spirit by force, at this point, using such hard tactics didn’t seem appropriate.

"Meh, I don’t really care," Archer said, spreading his hands without much consideration. "Whether it’s for Gaia’s side, Alaya’s side, or working for extraterrestrial beings, it’s meaningless. But a tangible boss and a seemingly lively work environment, that sounds not too bad. At least, it’s much better than the dry life I used to lead."

An expected answer from Red A, who never seemed to care much about these things. So, what would Saber’s answer be?

"Switching masters is not the act of a knight," Altoria hesitated for a few minutes before giving her own answer. "But the current situation seems to be different. Since you are beings that stand shoulder to shoulder with the World Root and even Alaya has acknowledged its promise with you, then... for me, perhaps, I would like to see another path as well."

Well, now it seems the persuasion... is complete.