"So, in this state, I'm practically immortal? Even if I die, I'll just return to my original world?"
Fairy Tristan waved her hand, feeling no discomfort. The flow of magical power felt familiar, exactly like her original body.
"Why didn't you tell me about this cool stuff sooner?"
"And this is Chaldea you were talking about?"
Fairy Tristan pinched a leaf from a nearby bush. This looked more like a South American jungle than anything else.
"That's odd. I should have appeared inside Chaldea. This..."
Jiang You triple-checked the Script's title: Absolute Demonic Front: Babylonia. It was indeed correct.
"It seems we've been directly teleported to a Singularity. Logically, my save point should have been right next to Gudako."
"Are you sure you're reliable?" Fairy Tristan asked skeptically, vaporizing the mosquitoes swarming her with a burst of magical power. As a Blood-Sucking Fairy, she wouldn't tolerate anything else trying to feed on her blood.
"Also, what's the problem here? I want to see how you Pan-Human History's Calamity Species humans struggle to survive."
No matter. Jiang You had crammed the plot of 1.7 before officially entering the Script. This environment clearly wasn't Mesopotamian terrain. Now, all he needed to do was head north to find Humanity's Oldest Fat Tiger and then enter the main storyline.
"The problem, in short, is similar to what's happening in your Faerie Realm. You know how your Mother has been preparing to fight the corpse of Cernunnos in the Great Hole? Well, here we're dealing with Tiamat, the Creator God from Mesopotamian mythology. Oh, and she's still alive."
"Isn't that much worse?"
Fairy Tristan didn't know the full extent of Tiamat's power, but the mere title "Creator God" carried immense weight. The corpse of Great Cernunnos alone was enough to destroy the Faerie Realm; how much more dangerous would a living Creator God be?
"Doesn't that mean utter despair?"
"That's why the forces assembled here are exceptionally formidable."
Jiang You quickly determined their direction by the sun's position. Turning to Fairy Tristan, he found her wearing a smug expression.
"Don't look so pleased," he chided, tapping her head out of habit. "Your Faerie Realm's problems aren't limited to Cernunnos. Threats like the Jet-Black Calamity, Crimson Calamity, and Abyssal Worms are all lurking, eager to strike. The pot shouldn't call the kettle black."
"So, in your Prophecy, did we successfully overcome this?"
Fairy Tristan wanted to declare that as the Prophesied Savior, she was guaranteed success. But the words caught in her throat. Even her mother, Morgan, had been troubled by this. She had no right to boast so confidently.
"We did," Jiang You assured her, sensing her unease. "Ultimately, Mother (Tiamat) simply wants to test her children's courage. If her children prove they possess the courage and strength to surpass these trials, she will abandon her plans. This is fundamentally different from the life-or-death feud you have with the Fairies."
As the thought crossed his mind, Jiang You recalled the Fairy's Poison Wine. Great Cernunnos had warned that it would kill instantly if it proved fatal, but what exactly was its Grand-class potency? He wondered if Tiamat could withstand it.
"They succeeded! Mother can too!"
Fairy Tristan clenched her teeth in frustration. While other Singularities had ended in Jiang You's favor, her own had ended in failure. If Jiang You's continued existence hadn't been crucial to her survival, she might have already joined Tiamat's forces to sabotage the Human Order.
"Don't worry too much," Jiang You reassured her. "Now that I'm here, I won't let anything happen to your side. Think of this as a dress rehearsal for handling the real Jet-Black Calamity."
Jiang You casually opened the Mission Panel. It had been flashing persistently since earlier, a behavior absent in previous Scripts. The main storyline had never offered any task prompts before.
Mission Objective 1: Successfully facilitate Tiamat's descent. Reward: [Tiamat] x1
Mission Objective 2: Conquer Uruk. Reward: Soul Crystal (Large) x5
Mission Objective 3: Defeat Gilgamesh. Reward: [Anti-Genesis] x1
"...?"
Jiang You's head swam with question marks. Wasn't this supposed to be Enkidu's side's mission? The misaligned spawning location now made perfect sense; he wasn't a servant aligned with Chaldea or Uruk.
In his heart, Jiang You would naturally side with Chaldea. Putting aside any sense of moral satisfaction, ensuring the continuation of the Human Order would allow him to continue advancing the Fate/Grand Order script. What could be better?
But this was Tiamat—a Beast-class servant. How could he possibly pass up the chance to reliably acquire her?
Thus, Jiang You decided to betray them all.
Just as he was about to notify Fairy Tristan to unleash chaos, his email began flashing frantically, vibrating more violently than ever before, conveying urgent haste. Annoyed by the relentless notifications, he immediately opened it.
Due to the absence of online multiplayer during the testing phase, the faction battle event has been adjusted. The randomized faction assignment has been corrected to allow players to freely choose their faction. The Mission Panel has been refreshed; please review your updated objectives promptly. If you encounter any issues, please report them through the feedback channels.
The Mission Panel now displayed several new objectives:
Mission Objective I: Defeat Tiamat Reward: [Gilgamesh (Caster)] x1
Mission Objective III: Conquer the Blood Temple Reward: [King's Great Cannon] x1
These types of missions often included objectives like eliminating a certain number of humans or Magical Beasts, essentially requiring players to fulfill conditions for both opposing factions. However, Uruk's rewards consistently felt less enticing than those offered by Tiamat, despite the presence of a rare player panel buff. The C-Rank Divinity, in particular, raised concerns about potential drawbacks, as it seemed likely to trigger peculiar vulnerabilities.
Jiang You stared at the missions, torn. Uruk's approach appealed to him more, but Tiamat's rewards were undeniably better.
After agonizing over it for a long time, he suddenly realized something: these missions didn't seem mutually exclusive.
Then I'll just complete them all! Who said I had to join either faction?
"Fairy Tristan, are you interested in establishing a Faerie Realm here?"
"?"
Aren't we supposed to be saving the world?
-
In a restaurant:
"You've crossed a line. You're inducing him to commit irreversible acts."
"Isn't that what you've been doing all along? Watching you scramble to patch things up is truly pathetic. And for me, nothing is irreversible."
"You'll regret this."