Once the appearance of Animusphere was confird through the communicator, a stir spread through the Storm Border's bridge, which was already busy dealing with the assault.
Marisbury Animusphere.
The forr Director of Chaldea, whose death in his own room had already been confird back in 2011.
Olga Marie's father.
And... depending on how one looked at it, a man Shiomi could, in a certain sense, call him "father-in-law."
"What is going on? Father is supposed to be dead...!" Olga Marie cried out in shock.
In the world of Magi, death was almost irreversible.
Most Magi chose to prolong their lives so they could continue pursuing Magecraft indefinitely.
The Director of the Clock Tower was one example. The Second Magic user was another, having lived from before the Common Era all the way to the present, just like the disciples who inherited the teachings of the Magecraft King Solomon.
But once a Magus truly t death, resurrection was basically impossible unless one sought a miracle on the level of the Holy Grail.
Even in the case of soone like Touko Aozaki, whether that truly counted as resurrection would turn into an exhausting philosophical debate if examined too closely.
And yet now, Marisbury was standing before Shiomi and Morgan.
His appearance, expression, and clothing were almost unchanged from the last ti they had t at the end of the Fifth Holy Grail War.
"You're not the real Marisbury. You're just a form recreated to imitate that man and appear before us."
Shiomi's Star Eyes lit up, seeing through the other party's true nature.
"Am I wrong, Chaldeas?"
"As you say, I am not the real Marisbury, but a materialized personality projection recreated from the records stored within," Marisbury replied, still smiling without the slightest emotional fluctuation. "Under Marisbury's original plan, Olga Marie Animusphere was the most suitable candidate."
But that possibility had already been destroyed.
"Chaldeas originally intended to discard the old plan and draft a new one. Until..." Morgan stared coldly at Marisbury. "Olga Marie gave up the Animusphere body."
"That is correct. Originally, everything about her, including her mind and soul, was an elent that had to exist within the Grand Order called 'Human Order Preservation.' Even with only the body remaining, it was still enough to serve a purpose," Marisbury said. "But judging from the final result, it was an incomplete piece after all. An ending like that was only natural."
Before he could finish speaking, a blast of attack Magecraft punched straight through Marisbury's body and slamd him into the wall.
Even with a large hole blown through his abdon, there was no blood. Marisbury simply rose from the floor with the sa unchanged expression.
The hole in his stomach gradually repaired itself, along with his damaged clothes.
"So you really aren't a living being. It wouldn't be wrong to call you an object created through Projection Magecraft," Morgan said, sounding montarily at a loss.
Shiomi had not attacked out of anger alone. He had also wanted to test the strength of this Marisbury standing before them.
The result seed clear. This projection was not ant for combat... at least, not for a fight against two gods.
"So then, what exactly does Marisbury's so-called 'Human Order Preservation' exist for?" Shiomi asked. "You went so far as to replace Earth's surface with the celestial sphere's surface, bring down the seeds known as Fantasy Trees, and create seven Lostbelts. What kind of Human Order Preservation are you trying to achieve, and what sort of future are you seeking?"
There was one point he hated admitting.
If not for Marisbury's long chain of secret sches, he might never have t Morgan at all.
From that angle, he might even owe the dead Marisbury so asure of thanks.
But that was one matter, and this was another. Shiomi had his own way of repaying such a debt, and he had no intention of mixing unnecessary personal feelings into this.
"On that point, I would think you already understand most of it by now," Marisbury said calmly. "Ever since humanity parted from the Age of Gods and entered the Common Era, the very foundation of Human Order has been unstable. Even now, after more than two thousand years of the age of man, that has still not changed."
"I already know that much," Shiomi said. "Human Order has its own reasons for being unstable. Aren't the Mysteries still active in the shadows of the world one of the causes of that instability?"
The Mage's Association, the Holy Church, and the many Mystery-based organizations that stood apart from those two great institutions.
As well as forms of life beyond human understanding.
The remnants of Phantasmal Species left on the planet's surface, and even beings like the Dead Apostles.
"So that is your view."
Marisbury spoke lightly.
There was not the slightest emotional fluctuation in him. Even the real Marisbury, back at the end of the Fifth Holy Grail War, had shown an obvious obsession with his objective.
Chaldeas could reproduce his personality and knowledge, but it could not reproduce the faintest stir of emotion.
"If you have a different opinion, then state it," Morgan said. "We ca here not only to stop Marisbury's plan, but also to uncover the truth behind what we still do not know."
"I would not call it a different opinion." Marisbury looked at the two of them. "Your view does contain a certain degree of truth, but it is not enough to solve the problem."
"Of course. Marisbury was dealing with a problem that belongs to the future," Shiomi said. "If the Incineration of Human Order by the King of Magecraft Goetia was the final problem the Age of Gods left behind for humanity, then the Animusphere Grand Order is an attempt to draw a navigational chart for humanity's future."
And that so-called chart was Human Order itself.
Because it was not stable enough, it needed to be maintained, and perhaps even fundantally stabilized.
"The monster that slept in the South Arican Lostbelt," Marisbury said, "and the ORT that likewise exists in Proper Human History in an even stronger form, is a destruction device ant to descend after the end of this planet arrives."
"And?" Morgan kept her attention fixed on the condition of the celestial sphere itself.
The celestial sphere that had turned gray half a year before during the Incineration of Human Order now showed a normal blue color and continued predicting the planet's future.
"This ans that no matter how stable Human Order becos, the ending of destruction cannot be avoided. That is a possibility Marisbury could not accept. If Human Order is to be preserved forever, then the ans cannot be questioned."
"Even if the energy of the entire universe must be taken away, Human Order must be guaranteed to continue eternally in perfect stability."
The mont Shiomi heard that particular fact from Marisbury, his brow tightened sharply, and he stared fixedly at the man before him.
"I sincerely hope what I just heard was a joke... but unfortunately, the Marisbury standing before does not tell jokes."
User Comments
0 comments from readers