Chaldea.
This observatory standing in Antarctica was as quiet as ever. Today, for some reason, it felt even colder and emptier than usual.
Whoosh!
Whoosh! Whoosh! In Chaldea's spacious, offline combat simulation room, Takumi stood shirtless. Holding the [Sword of the Heart] in both hands, he shifted through stances that felt natural to him, continuously swinging the blade. His brow was slightly furrowed, as if he were trying to grasp a fleeting feeling.
Chaldea naturally had rooms designed for Magus combat training. After all, if a "demonic muscle-head" like Rin and a "lady forklift" like Luvia could find places to spar at the Clock Tower, an organization formed to save humanity would obviously have them too. Combat capability was an evaluation metric here, so simulation rooms weren't in short supply.
However, since the gap between a normal Magus and a Servant was so huge, these rooms were mostly used to simulate commanding Servants.
The sound of the sword cutting through the air echoed endlessly in the empty room. It took over ten minutes before Takumi finally stopped.
"It's always just a little bit off..."
Looking at his own reflection in the clear blade, Takumi sighed.
It had been nearly a week since he returned from the Seventh Singularity.
Besides using the Holy Grail to lock onto the coordinates of the Grand Time Temple, he had spent most of his time trying to replicate the strike King Hassan used when he discarded his Grand title.
The initial practice went fine, but once he reached a certain point, he just couldn't capture the essence of the strike that forced the concept of death onto the Mother Goddess. No matter how much he practiced, it didn't feel right.
And he didn't exactly have a test subject right now—uh, was he supposed to go chop Fou?
(Somewhere in Chaldea, the white beast suddenly looked up: Fou?)Ahem, Fou helped me a lot, I can't be that evil! Coughing lightly, Takumi tossed the terrible idea aside.
The rank of that technique was simply too high. It had little to do with sword forms or martial arts; it was entirely reliant on sheer talent and conceptual understanding. Practicing the physical motion wasn't going to cut it, and he certainly wouldn't be able to master it in a short amount of time—not that he had the time anyway.
Six days.
That was the time limit Takumi had set for himself to prepare for the final battle.
If he dragged it out any longer, he was genuinely afraid Goetia would stop playing fair and pull something completely unexpected. Compared to him, Goetia was the one who actually held the initiative.
Honestly, looking back at his journey, if Goetia hadn't given him the chance, no matter how hard Takumi tried, his only ending would have been death.
Aside from the Seventh Singularity where he formed the [God of Humanity] with a Grand Assassin on standby, and the latter half of the Sixth Singularity where the Lion King joined his side with another Grand Assassin waiting... in any other Singularity, if Goetia had personally stepped in and gotten even slightly serious, he could have instantly flipped the board.
And Takumi would have been the one running for his life.
Fortunately, just like in the game's original plot, Goetia had focused almost all his attention on his giant light ring, preparing to create his new world. He had only interfered during the Fifth Singularity on a whim to "tease" Takumi.
Everything else was just the Demon God Pillars acting on their own within the Singularities.
There were no Pillars in Singularity F or the First Singularity because they assumed humanity and Chaldea were already completely wiped out, so they weren't paying attention. It wasn't until the Second Singularity that they noticed Takumi's existence.
The Pillars had their pride. They naturally wouldn't mobilize their entire force just for one lucky human. So, whoever caused the oversight had to clean it up, which is why Flauros, also known as Lev Lainur, was sent out.
Was Lev careless?
Not really. He used the exact same scheme as the original plot, and he took fighting Takumi even more seriously than he did Fujimaru Ritsuka. I mean, what kind of sane person sets up an instant-cast summoning circle when the outcome is supposedly already decided?
Was Forneus careless in the Third Singularity?
No. Under his influence, Jason was absolutely going for the kill. He just got played by Medea Lily, and only stepped out as a Demon God Pillar at the very end, which earned him a severe beating.
Goetia personally showed up for the Fourth Singularity, so that goes without saying.
In the Fifth Singularity, twenty-eight Demon God Pillars made their attitude very clear.
The Sixth Singularity was entirely the Lion King's domain, so they couldn't easily interfere. That meant all their remaining arrangements were dumped into the Seventh Singularity—but unfortunately for them, by the time he reached the Seventh Singularity, Takumi could farm Demon God Pillars like basic mobs.
None of this could be summarized in a few words, or just chalked up to luck. If Goetia had genuinely taken action early on, it would be like a fantasy novel villain sending a max-level enforcer to slap the protagonist the moment they made their grand "I will have my revenge" speech, stealing their cheat ring, and then spending every waking moment watching the protagonist to ruin everything they tried to do.
Or like if a certain villain group in a different story didn't care about honor or romance, and just wiped out the protagonist's family at all costs the moment he was born. How could anyone make a comeback from that?
Everyone needs time to grow. But if the enemy doesn't give you that time, what can you do?
Even now, with Takumi fully grown, he was still worried about Goetia pulling a fast one. You can't guard against a thief for a thousand days. There would always be a moment when his guard was down.
So Takumi's strategy was simple: don't give the enemy time to scheme. Take the initiative and eliminate the threat as fast as possible.
"Guess it's time to play it by ear again. If it really doesn't work out... maybe I'll pull off a mid-battle breakthrough?"
Putting on his custom combat uniform, Takumi muttered to himself, raising an eyebrow in a joking manner.
But it was just a joke. Two seconds later, Takumi was back to frowning slightly, carrying that faint trace of worry.
Looking back, from the moment he officially stepped onto the path to save humanity—and save himself—it felt like he had been in a constant race against time. He was always the one being chased.
And even now, at the very end, that didn't seem to be changing.
Taking a deep breath, Takumi left the simulation room, turned off the lights, and stepped out into Chaldea's long corridor.
"Man, no matter how you look at it, this hallway is just incredibly bland..."
Looking down the bare corridor he had walked countless times, Takumi couldn't help but chuckle and shake his head.
Chaldea's facilities leaned heavily toward pragmatism. There were almost no decorations. Take this hallway, for instance: it was ridiculously long, and aside from a few potted plants, there was nothing. The walls and floors had a heavy sci-fi aesthetic, and when it was empty, it was terrifyingly quiet. When he first arrived, Takumi half-expected a ghost to pop out of the walls.
This time, Takumi didn't use his super speed to sprint to the Central Command Room like he normally did.
Instead, like an old man revisiting a familiar place, he walked slowly down the hall, occasionally looking up at parts of Chaldea he had never paid attention to before.
He walked through the places he frequented, and he even wandered through the areas he rarely visited.
Time slowly ticked by as he did these meaningless things.
He arrived at the Rayshift Room.
It was completely bare, with only a single Coffin standing in the center.
"I spent half the day cleaning this place up and pulling out the most intact one, only to find out it was completely useless."
Seeing the Coffin sitting quietly there, Takumi felt a mix of annoyance and amusement.
Everyone knew Chaldea had been attacked by a certain terrorist bomber. Aside from super-important equipment like the near-future observation lens SHEBA, the phenomenon recording computer, and CHALDEAS, almost everything had suffered some damage. This room was no exception.
Back then, Takumi knew nothing. He spent over five months here and barely learned the absolute basics of Chaldea's high-tech equipment. How was he supposed to know if this broken thing actually worked?
He acted like a college student writing a thesis: use whatever is available. He saw this Coffin was the most intact, pretended to inspect it, and dragged it out to use.
And guess what?
When he finally learned how things actually worked, he realized what he had done was the equivalent of tying an untrained astronaut to the outside of a rocket with a rope, giving them zero safety equipment, and blasting them into space!
That wasn't exploring the universe; that was straight-up murder!
The only person surviving that would be Jackie Chan clinging to a rocket bare-handed.
In short, the thing couldn't even be called a Rayshift Coffin. Calling it a literal coffin was much more accurate. If Fou didn't have [Independent Manifestation], Takumi would have died hundreds of times over.
As for the "watch" he dug out of Da Vinci's workshop, it was exactly what it sounded like: an unfinished prototype. After returning with actual knowledge, Takumi inspected it and found it only had two functions.
First, remotely start the Rayshift sequence. It handled the launch, but couldn't guarantee you'd survive the trip.
Second, send messages to Chaldea. It just sent texts. It didn't do anything else.
After thinking it over, Takumi came to a conclusion.
The ability to observe Singularities + the ability to lock coordinates + Fou = Chaldea (Complete Edition).
That's right! This was the ultimate Chaldea backing Takumi up!
Smiling at the Coffin—which served more as an emotional support pillar than anything else—Takumi dropped the grin and continued his "stroll."
There wasn't much else to see. The rubble from the explosion had already been cleared out back when his Heart of Fire first ignited. The room fit Chaldea's current vibe perfectly: besides CHALDEAS and the broken Coffin, there was absolutely nothing.
Which means there are only two places left in all of Chaldea he hasn't checked. Trailing his fingers along the hallway wall, he finally stopped at a familiar door.
Standing in the doorway, Takumi looked inside.
The fresh bedding was neatly made. The room was just as clean and tidy—fitting the "empty" Chaldea theme. There wasn't even any trash in the bin. It looked like no one had ever lived there.
Based on his deductions, Takumi figured this was probably Fujimaru Ritsuka's room, and the place Romani slacked off before the Incineration of Humanity.
Why did he pick this room?
Well, most of the other rooms already had owners. When Takumi first arrived, he couldn't even get into them.
The few he could enter were a mess, without even a blanket. He had to search for a while before he found this one.
"But at the end of the day, there's no real place for me in this Chaldea, is there?"
Standing there, Takumi didn't step inside. His tone carried a faint, almost imperceptible sadness.
He had lived in this Chaldea for over seven months. How could he not have any emotional attachment to it?
But to this world, he was a Foreigner. To this Chaldea, he was an absolute outsider.
Takumi pressed his lips together and turned away without looking back, heading toward the final location. The automatic sensor door slid shut behind him with a soft click.
That was why he cleaned the room so thoroughly. It looked exactly as it did before he arrived. The Central Command Room.
Takumi stepped into the place where he spent most of his time, second only to his bedroom.
This room technically had an automatic door too, but it had been blown up. The only reason Takumi could get in when he first arrived was because he literally pried it open with a crowbar.
It was just a door, so Takumi naturally hadn't bothered fixing it. It was still broken.
Glancing around the room, Takumi slowly walked over to the main seat he always used.
There wasn't much on the desk. A mug, a journal, and a pen—the usual trio.
Next to them sat a few other items: a gorgeous crimson and gold half-mask, an ordinary-looking eyepatch, and a golden dagger that clearly wasn't a normal weapon.
Since he was heading into the final battle, Takumi obviously couldn't bring these with him. No matter how precious they were to him, he had to leave them here, otherwise they might get destroyed.
He picked them up one by one, looked them over, and then sat down heavily in his chair, staring blankly at the ceiling.
Was he confident he could beat Goetia? Naturally, but he only gave himself a fifty percent chance.
He knew Goetia's specs, but without actually fighting him, it was all just theory. He didn't know if his plans would work or if Goetia had any hidden trump cards. Honestly, in the game, Goetia didn't even get to use his full power before Romani blasted him. Who knew what a full-health, full-mana Goetia was capable of?
But there was no point in stressing over it now. He would deal with whatever came his way. Overthinking wouldn't change anything.
Compared to that, Takumi was actually more worried about something else.
"Will they... actually come?"
Takumi muttered to himself, his eyes flickering as he stared at the ceiling.
He had locked onto the Grand Time Temple's coordinates two days ago. With [Independent Manifestation], he could teleport there whenever he wanted. He didn't need any equipment.
To him, a single Demon God Pillar—even if it could revive infinitely—was just a regenerating mob. If he started running, the Pillars wouldn't even be able to catch his shadow. He could completely ignore them.
As for Goetia, the Servants couldn't really help him fight anyway. He was the only one who could face the Beast directly.
Looking at it that way, the grand gathering of Servants that was absolutely vital for Ritsuka and the others in the original story... was actually kind of optional for him?
But the one thing that had pushed him to make it this far was that he wanted to see that "Meteor Shower of the Extreme Heavens" no matter what. The greater the expectation, the greater the anxiety.
Pushing off the floor slightly, he spun the chair around once, then eagerly stood up.
He carefully checked everything, from his boots to his collar, making sure nothing was out of place.
Combat uniform status—Perfect!
Physical condition—Perfect!
Taking two deep breaths to settle his nerves, Takumi summoned the [Sword of the Heart] and his flag, which had changed its appearance yet again.
On the already complex fabric, there were now countless faceless silhouettes crowded at the bottom. Like stars surrounding the moon, they were all reaching toward the Chaldea logo blazing with flames in the center.
After another meticulous check—even making sure the Silver Arm on his right hand was ready—Takumi finally relaxed.
—And then he caught sight of the journal on the desk. Regardless of whether he survived or not, for the sake of his own reputation, Takumi picked it up for one last nervous check.
Compared to before, the journal now had massive, unnatural blank spaces in it. The reason was simple: Takumi had used Runes to censor anything that might lead to extreme social death.
And he had put a lot of effort into it!
Takumi didn't really understand modern Magecraft, nor did he know the standard level of modern Magi. But with his current mastery of Runes, he refused to believe anyone could crack his ultimate, foolproof anti-peeping barrier!
Runes weren't even in the same league as modern Magecraft!
After flipping through every single page and confirming there was no embarrassing content left, Takumi breathed a sigh of relief and set the journal back down.
He had written down some intel about the "Bleaching of the Earth" at the back. However, because he was too busy with school to play the game much, his knowledge of Part 2 was pretty limited. He knew who the final boss was, but had no idea about the actual plot leading up to it. The only part he actually paid attention to was the "Fairy Knight Avalon" chapter.
So he just wrote down whatever he could remember. If he really didn't make it back, at least the original Chaldea would have some warning.
Everything was ready. Takumi stood by the main console in Chaldea's command room, looking at the large screen displaying bold text: Final Singularity: Grand Temple of Time. "Has it finally come to this...?"
Taking a deep breath, Takumi closed his eyes, his memories of the past few months flashing through his mind.
When he opened them again, the brilliant flames in his eyes were already burning fiercely.
"I'm coming for you, Goetia!"
Let's burn this Time Temple to the ground!!!—At the same time.[Goodbye, Chaldea.][And... Fou.] Without a second of hesitation, holding his flag in one hand and his sword in the other, the boy vanished from the cold observatory, carried away by the power of [Independent Manifestation].