"...We hereby issue a declaration to all of humanity: from this moment forward, this planet shall be reborn into an ancient yet brand-new world."
"Human civilization is incorrect. Our growth was incorrect. Therefore, I have made a decision: I shall rise in rebellion against the entirety of Human History—against Pan-Human History itself!"
"Once again, let the world be filled with the mystery of non-humans..."
...
"Pan-Human History ends in the year 2016."
That final declaration, broadcast to the remaining survivors of Pan-Human History, echoed constantly in her mind.
Knock, knock!
The sound of knocking came from the door.
"...Good morning, Senpai. Are you awake?"
A tentative, cautious voice followed shortly after.
"I'm awake! Come in!"
Hearing the now-familiar voice, Fujimaru Ritsuka snapped out of her thoughts. Sitting in a chair in the cramped room, she quickly called out.
"Oh, good! I brought you breakfast!"
Hearing her reply, Mash pushed the door open and walked in carrying a tray.
"You know, since this is our room, do you really need to be so formal every single morning?"
Watching Mash, who consistently acted like a proper junior, Ritsuka couldn't help but sigh helplessly.
"Well, I didn't want to wake you if you were still resting."
Mash smiled apologetically as she set the tray down on the small table.
"Sigh... Even if you say that, I feel like my sleep quality hasn't exactly been great lately anyway..."
Ritsuka sighed again, sounding completely drained.
The events of six days ago still felt incredibly vivid.
It was a beautiful, sunny morning... or was it night?
—Well, because of the whole polar day/polar night situation in Antarctica, the sky was definitely bright. And since it was a rare day without a blizzard, she and Mash had actually bundled up in winter gear and gone outside to play in the snow.
That same evening, while she and Mash were out walking and chatting, a fat man named Goredolf Musik arrived at Chaldea in a helicopter, bringing a massive squad of armed guards with him.
The moment he arrived, he started arguing with Director Olga Marie.
Ritsuka didn't know exactly what they were talking about, but she figured it was just some corporate restructuring regarding Chaldea's assets.
It had nothing to do with her. All she needed to think about was when she could finally leave Chaldea and go back home to Japan.
But no one could have predicted what would happen that night. While she was peacefully sleeping in her room, Chaldea's blaring, earthquake-like emergency alarms suddenly went off.
The deafening sirens jolted Ritsuka awake. Without a second thought, she threw her clothes on and bolted out of her room.
She had no idea what was happening in this isolated Antarctic facility, but seeing the flashing red emergency lights, her first instinct was to run frantically toward Mash's room.
Along the way, she ran into heavily armed soldiers that Da Vinci later called "Oprichniki." Fortunately, she was a fast runner, and knowing a tiny bit of Reinforcement Magecraft allowed her to miraculously outrun the murder squads. She eventually bumped into Mash, who seemed to have been looking for her as well, but was far less lucky—she had taken a bullet and was barely able to move.
Then, as if guided by fate itself, the Heroic Spirit slumbering within Mash finally responded, granting her his full power. Mash officially became a true Demi-Servant and formed a Master-Servant contract with the nearby Ritsuka.
Thinking back on it, Ritsuka glanced down at the crimson Command Spells etched onto the back of her hand.
The diary had completely predicted it. After everything, she still ended up becoming Chaldea's final Master.
It's just... she didn't get a tutorial phase at all! (T_T)
Everything happened in the span of ten minutes. Unable to defend Chaldea, their ragtag group of about a dozen survivors was forced to pile into a vehicle Da Vinci had secretly prepared and embark on a grand, desperate escape.
'Sigh... the pressure is insane...'
Ritsuka let out a quiet, exhausted sigh in her heart.
She finally understood a fraction of the crushing pressure Takumi must have felt.
"It's military rations again today... And we only have about five days' worth left..."
Mash sounded slightly depressed as she handed Ritsuka a block of compressed biscuits.
Due to the limited internal space of the Shadow Border, they couldn't exactly stockpile a massive food supply. Most of what they had were military rations—great for survival, terrible for taste.
"...Thank you. Thanks for the food!"
Ritsuka pulled herself together, forcing down her lingering anxiety and tension.
Regardless of the situation, her current lineup was vastly superior to the one Takumi started with!
Besides Mash and Da Vinci, she also had General Fou and Solomon (the Doctor) on her side! Having read the diary, she had naturally deduced their true identities, but she hadn't told anyone else. That meant, aside from Da Vinci, she was the only one who knew the truth about those two.
While Mash didn't know why her Senpai's mood had suddenly improved, seeing her smile made Mash's own lips curl into a warm, gentle smile.
The two girls quickly scarfed down the thoroughly unenjoyable breakfast.
Then, they casually walked out of their room.
According to the briefing the Director and the Doctor gave last night, everyone needed to gather today to discuss their next move.
From the outside, the Shadow Border just looked like an oversized armored transport. But thanks to Da Vinci's spatial Magecraft, the interior was significantly larger than it appeared—otherwise, there would be no way for over a dozen people to eat, sleep, and work inside it.
In the driver's cabin.
"Why is my breakfast military rations?! Where is my toast, my milk, and my black tea?!"
The fat man stared at the compressed biscuit in his hand with wide, indignant eyes.
"Are you completely oblivious to what you've been eating for the past few days?! Even I, the Director of Chaldea, have been eating military rations!"
The woman wearing red tights pointed directly at his nose, snapping at him without a shred of politeness.
"B-But I'm the Director too, aren't I...?"
Hearing her yell, Goredolf shrank back, his confidence instantly crumbling.
"First of all! You keep claiming you bought Chaldea with your own money, but I haven't seen a single cent of these supposed assets!"
"Secondly! Even though you brought a transfer order from the Mage's Association, the official handover was never completed! I am still the Director in name! At best, you're the Vice Director!"
Olga Marie's gaze turned razor-sharp as she laid out the facts flawlessly.
"But I really did spend my entire fortune to buy Chaldea..."
Completely suppressed by her aura, Goredolf muttered under his breath.
Smack!
"You got scammed, you idiot!"
Olga Marie facepalmed in pure exasperation.
She might not have been perfectly groomed to take over the Animusphere family, leading to some missteps when she was suddenly thrust into the Director's seat... but the guy standing in front of her was even less suited to survive the cutthroat world of Magi! He was even more incredibly naive than she was!
...
Through interrogating Goredolf over the past few days on the Shadow Border, Olga Marie finally understood why a massive coalition of Mage families had spontaneously launched a coordinated "offensive" against her and Chaldea in the span of a single month.
There was a hidden hand manipulating things from the shadows!
Normally, given the Clock Tower's sluggish bureaucracy and Chaldea's relatively low standing within the Association, they wouldn't have attracted the attention of so many prominent families.
Taking a step back: even if some factions in the Association really wanted to mess with Chaldea, orchestrating a massive takeover would require months of "inventing excuses," "bribing officials," and "donating taxes." It would take at least two or three months to organize such a unified front.
Yet, in less than a month, they managed to completely isolate her and Chaldea, giving her absolutely no time to react or counterattack. Even the Animusphere family's resources proved useless against such a blitzkrieg.
Because of this, she, Romani, and Da Vinci had come to a terrifying conclusion:
The Lostbelt crisis wasn't just caused by some external cosmic threat like the Incineration of Humanity!
There were definitely collaborators working from the inside, deep within the chaotic ranks of the Clock Tower!
But as someone who had spent the last three years isolated in Chaldea, Olga Marie had no way of knowing exactly who those collaborators were.
"That woman...!"
Hearing he had been scammed, Goredolf was consumed by a mix of grief and fury, unable to stop thinking about a certain beautiful woman with an incredibly pleasant voice.
Honestly, ever since he realized he had been played, Goredolf hadn't been able to let it go. It's just...
Right now, he couldn't even find a trace of that woman or that bizarre priest!
And given their current situation, it wasn't like he could just march back and demand a refund.
Feeling entirely helpless, Goredolf channeled his grief into his appetite and took a massive bite out of the compressed biscuit.
But because he took such a huge bite while incredibly angry, he instantly started choking.
His face immediately flushed a terrifying shade of purple. Clutching his throat, he let out silent pleas for help.
Startled by the sudden near-death experience, Romani—who had been happily watching the drama unfold—hurriedly grabbed a cup of water and practically waterboarded the fat Director until the biscuit finally went down.
Olga Marie: "..."
If it weren't for the fact that he was genuinely incredibly unlucky and a bit stupid, and that his transfer order was actually authentic, she wouldn't even want to give him the title of Vice Director.
Furthermore, seeing how surprisingly similar his naive situation was to her own past struggles had actually evoked a sliver of sympathy in her.
But then she remembered how, back when they were surrounded in Chaldea, she and this idiot had simultaneously shouted the exact same panicked line. Whenever she thought about it, her face inevitably darkened.
Dark history! That is absolute dark history!
Thank God only Ritsuka and Mash had arrived in time to hear it, otherwise...
Olga Marie subtly glanced around at the other personnel currently on the vehicle.
"Haha, well, Vice Director Goredolf is a bit on the larger side, so he naturally needs more calories! If a single meal is all it takes to keep the peace and eliminate a source of conflict, I'd say it's a pretty good deal!"
Having successfully saved the fat Director from choking to death, Romani let out a sigh of relief. He sat back down, took a sip of his coffee, and chuckled.
Olga Marie glared at Romani but didn't say anything.
After all, at the end of the day, she still had the Animusphere family to fall back on. This guy had been scammed out of everything except Chaldea—and it turned out he didn't even actually own Chaldea yet!
Thinking about it carefully, the Mage's Association's transfer order was real, it just hadn't been formally approved by her, the current Director...
A vein instantly popped on Olga Marie's forehead, and her small fists clenched so tightly her knuckles cracked.
Damn it! If I ever find out exactly who orchestrated this—!
"Good morning, everyone. Fujimaru Ritsuka and Mash, reporting for the briefing."
Mash's voice echoed from the corridor behind them.
Following closely behind, Ritsuka also offered a "Good morning."
Olga Marie coughed twice, forcefully suppressing her lingering murderous intent, and nodded at the two girls.
She wasn't going to take her anger out on them.
"Good morning, Ritsuka, Mash. How did you sleep last night?"
Seeing them arrive, Romani smiled warmly and greeted them.
Mash: "It was alright."
Ritsuka scratched her head: "Not great, honestly..."
"I see... Well, saving humanity isn't a one- or two-person job. Don't put too much pressure on yourselves. Everyone here is ready and willing to support you and Mash!"
Sensing the anxiety weighing on Ritsuka's heart, Romani offered a comforting smile.
"Exactly! The omnipotent Da Vinci-chan is always here for you too!"
Having been forced to dedicate a portion of her Noble Phantasm's processing power to reinforce and manually pilot the Shadow Border, Da Vinci was currently locked in the main control room. Right now, she was only appearing as a holographic projection.
"Mhm! Understood!"
Seeing the encouraging looks from everyone in the room, Ritsuka felt deeply moved. She gathered her resolve and nodded firmly.
Whatever happens, I'll just deal with it!
Seeing her Senpai fired up, even the slightly nervous Mash relaxed a bit.
"Alright, enough with the sappy pep talks. We didn't call this meeting to chat. Let's get straight to summarizing our current situation."
Catching a glimpse of the Command Spells on the girl's hand, a brief, almost imperceptible flash of envy crossed Olga Marie's eyes. She quickly turned her head and spoke strictly.
"Got it! Since Da Vinci has to pilot the Shadow Border, I'll handle the briefing!"
Romani, serving as the core technical staff, volunteered eagerly.
"First of all. Due to the sudden attack on Chaldea, and our inability to repel the enemy forces, we were forced to evacuate the facility. We boarded the Shadow Border and initiated a dive into the Imaginary Number Space. Everyone is aware of this, correct?"
Ritsuka and Mash nodded.
That day, after rescuing the two Directors, they had linked up with Da Vinci. However, because the sheer number of Oprichniki was overwhelming, and no one present possessed the firepower to simultaneously hold off an unknown Servant while wiping out an army, they had no choice but to abandon Chaldea. Fighting a running battle, they executed a desperate escape exactly like the game's plot—sliding down a snowy mountain in a container and diving into Imaginary Number Space to reach their current state.
Just to clarify: the Mash currently present was not the heavily nerfed, failing Demi-Servant from the original plot. She was a fully synchronized Demi-Servant empowered by Galahad.
While she lacked the combat experience gained from the Singularities and couldn't fully unleash her Noble Phantasm yet, her baseline specs as a Knight of the Round Table were fully intact. The Oprichniki were basically fodder to her, and even if she encountered a Servant she couldn't beat, she could easily hold them off with her shield's absolute defense.
The only real issue was that protecting three squishy humans at once had stretched her a bit thin, but Da Vinci's timely arrival had quickly solved that problem.
As for the existence of the Shadow Border itself... That was naturally Da Vinci's creation. During the six years she had been summoned by Chaldea, she had built it purely out of boredom.
Both the Doctor and Director Olga Marie were fully aware of its existence. In fact, the most crucial component—the [Paper Moon]—had been hastily shoved inside by Olga Marie the moment she realized Chaldea was going to fall.
*************
Omake Mini-Theater
"Mommy wants to buy some pretty new clothes too! Can I?!"
Watching the other girls constantly swapping into beautiful new outfits right in front of Takumi, Tiamat suddenly felt a massive crisis. Fearing her precious child might actually be seduced away, she tugged desperately on Takumi's arm, staring at him with big, pleading eyes.
"I mean, sure, that's fine, but..."
Stared down by Mommy Tiamat's adorable, watery eyes, how could Takumi possibly refuse?
But as he agreed, his gaze inevitably drifted up to the massive horns on Tiamat's head.
If she picked out a shirt that needed to be pulled over her head... how exactly was she supposed to put it on?
"Oh? Is my baby worried about Mommy? Don't you worry about a thing~!"
Feeling cared for, Tiamat smiled sweetly. Then, reaching up with both hands, she grabbed the two massive horns on her head, gave them a slight twist, and literally popped them right off!
"Huh?!"
Takumi was completely dumbfounded.
Is [Self-Modification] really that convenient?!
"Well, if I want to lie in bed and watch my baby sleep, these horns would definitely get in the way... Here, hold these for Mommy!"
Handing the two still-warm, massive horns to Takumi, Tiamat happily skipped off to pick out her new clothes.
Leaving Takumi standing blankly in place, holding two giant, warm dragon horns.