The Chaldea Observatory looked exactly the sa as it had when they evacuated it.
None of the damage caused by the battle and the attack had ever been repaired.
Ti here seed frozen on that first day of 2017. Everything that ca after, including the bleaching of Earth, felt as though it had nothing to do with this observatory.
And in truth, that was exactly the case.
Although this was the last place untouched by the bleaching, if one looked at it from the other side, then on the replaced planetary surface, the Antarctica where Chaldeas existed was in exactly the sa state.
Which ant there was no real distinction to be made about whether it had been replaced or not.
"The Unity God has entered Chaldea's interior. Storm Border, can you land safely?" Morgan asked, contacting the Storm Border.
Through the broken windows along the corridor, they could still see the Storm Border fighting outside.
In addition to the Servant Shadows that had survived the earlier avalanche and bombardnt, many newly manifested Servant Shadows had appeared as well.
Chaldea's power system had most likely been restarted by Chaldeas, which was now using Spirit Origin Shadow summoning technology to continuously reproduce usable Servants for battle and prevent New Chaldea from drawing near.
"I'm afraid landing won't be possible. If we want to ensure there is no interference, we first need to cut Chaldea's power supply and sever the Mana support going to the Spirit Origin Shadows," Sion's voice ca through the communicator. "So making contact with Chaldeas will be left to the two of you. If communications can be maintained, please do not disconnect."
"Understood," Morgan replied.
The Storm Border clearly still had enough strength left to deal with the encirclent by the Servant Shadows. But if it landed and allowed the people on board to disembark, it would create a major opening and put the non-combat personnel in danger.
So the task of going ahead and investigating first was best left to Morgan and Shiomi, their strongest fighters.
Leaving the line open, Morgan started walking toward the control room.
The doors that should have opened automatically did not respond. Left with no choice, Morgan broke them apart, brushing away the dust with one hand as she continued deeper inside.
Once she passed through, she was t with an unpleasant sight.
The Chaldea staff who had failed to evacuate in ti during the assault were lying in the corridor, their bodies still marked by the single bullet holes left by the black hound hunters.
Blood had pooled beneath them, then frozen solid and ford a layer of white frost.
Fortunately, the internal heating system had already shut down, so all of the remains had been frozen by the Antarctic cold of several dozen degrees below zero. In another sense, the entire Chaldea facility had beco a natural morgue.
At least there was no sll of decay.
"More than a hundred employees died that day. People like Anastasia and Kotomine Kirei dying just like that was almost letting them off easy," Shiomi said quietly.
"What about Koyanskaya? If my husband wants to settle accounts with her now, that would not be impossible," Morgan asked.
"What's already been decided doesn't need to be changed," Shiomi answered. "Besides, Koyanskaya also contributed in Mictlan and made her atonent. The sa still applies now."
"So in my husband's words, her head stays on her neck for now?" Morgan asked.
"That's not wrong." Shiomi smiled. "Still, this really is gloomy. Dead Chaldea staff everywhere, all killed horribly, and the lighting isn't great either. Does it make you uneasy, my wife?"
"No, I'm fine." Morgan shook her head.
Though she was venturing deep into Chaldea alone, she was not truly fighting alone.
Her husband was with her at every mont.
"Mhm," Shiomi answered softly.
The path from the corridor to the control room was not very long. But when Morgan approached, only the control room door slowly opened on its own.
"...So this door is still intact?" Morgan raised a brow.
"We didn't run into a single enemy all the way here. Looks like Chaldeas is waiting for us too," Shiomi said. "That said, can that celestial sphere really communicate with us?"
"We'll know soon enough." Morgan could not answer, so she simply replied with a faint laugh.
Passing through the final door, what appeared before Morgan was Chaldeas, sealed inside a thick mass of ice.
"According to Kadoc, Anastasia, who led the black hound hunters in the attack, personally froze Chaldeas. And supposedly that was done under the orders of the 'Alien God,'" Shiomi recalled.
"But judging by the result, that was really just a smokescreen, ant to keep even the Crypters in the dark," Morgan said as she examined the ice. "Even if we had never intervened, once the seven Lostbelts finished competing and a victor remained, Chaldeas would have had U-Olga Marie descend, destroy the final Lostbelt, and complete the last step of the plan."
In other words, Chaldeas's frozen dormancy had only been an illusion. Even now, the celestial sphere of Human Order Preservation wrapped in ice was still operating.
"Even without us, Kirschtaria would still have failed in the end," Shiomi said flatly.
From the communicator ca Kirschtaria's relaxed teasing, saying Shiomi's assessnt was far too harsh.
After all, once Shiomi completed his six-thousand-year pilgrimage in Britain, no Crypter could have stood in his way any longer.
"To keep it simple, let's see what Chaldeas intends to do."
Morgan swept her sleeve through the air.
A gentle spring breeze passed through the control room.
The ice encasing Chaldeas was ice Magecraft created by Anastasia through her contracted spirit.
So it had to be dispelled through Magecraft or sothing beyond it.
That breeze, mild on the surface, instantly lted the thick ice covering Chaldeas. It turned into cold water, fell to the floor, and flowed away toward the lower levels.
"How long has it been since I last looked at Chaldeas operating as if nothing were wrong?"
After undoing the fusion, Morgan spoke to Shiomi.
"My wife knew from the beginning that sothing was wrong with Chaldeas. Unfortunately, because of causality, you couldn't say it out loud." Shiomi let out a light sigh.
"Are you angry?" Morgan asked with a smiling expression.
"Asking a question when you already know the answer again. I understand the hardship you were under, so how could I be angry over that?"
Shiomi wrapped an arm around her shoulders.
Morgan gave a slight nod and raised her head to look at Chaldeas.
"Then... now that it has been thawed and restored to operation, next..."
At that mont, a series of steady footsteps sounded from behind them.
"My apologies for not being properly prepared to receive guests. As the only one in this Chaldea that has yet to begin operation, and the only one here who can welco visitors, I sincerely welco your arrival, last god of humanity, and god who was once a fairy."
The familiar tone and manner of speaking ca from behind them. Shiomi turned first, moving to shield half of Morgan's body behind him.
Morgan also turned at the sa mont.
And when they clearly saw who had spoken, both of them were slightly taken aback.
"Marisbury Animusphere?"
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