I'm Not A Master, I'm A Director
Chapter 452: A Prologue Cut Short
"But even so—"
Not wanting to dwell any longer on Lev's mess, Romani skipped over the details of the damage and continued speaking seriously to Ritsuka.
"The rest of us must carry on and protect humanity in place of those who died."
"Protect humanity?"
Noticing Romani's choice of words, a trace of hope appeared in Ritsuka's eyes.
"Does that mean...?"
Could it be that humanity hadn't actually been destroyed?
Ritsuka thought naively.
"No."
Romani immediately crushed that hope.
"Humanity has perished exactly as Lev said. Human civilization did not survive into 2017. Even though you successfully resolved the Fuyuki City Singularity, it wasn't enough to change that outcome."
"How can that be? Doctor, you said before—"
"It was our mistake. We originally believed Fuyuki City was the cause of the distorted future, but that wasn't actually the case."
Romani brought up a screen displaying a world map.
However, most of the map was obscured by several enormous black spirals. Ritsuka had to stare for quite a while before he could even make out the outlines of the continents beneath them.
"This is the result of rescanning Earth's past using the repaired SHEBA system. Do you see the seven black spots on the screen?"
Romani's words caused both Ritsuka and the audience to twitch at the corners of their mouths.
You call those "spots"?!
They practically covered half the map!
[Kotomine Takako of the Matou Family]:
"Damn, the centers of those giant black holes are probably where the future story arcs will take place. Can anyone tell where they are?"
[Li Family's Second Son Is Archer]:
"No clue. I can only tell that they're in Asia, Europe, and the Americas."
[Tokiomi, You've Done Every Evil Deed Possible]:
"Well, obviously not Antarctica. There's no human civilization there."
[Li Family's Second Son Is Archer]:
"No, the bigger question is how Romani figured out there were seven of them. It's one giant blob of black! I can't tell them apart at all!"
[Kotomine Takako of the Matou Family]:
"Did Shinji intentionally design it this way to avoid spoilers? What a sneaky bastard."
[Tokiomi, You've Done Every Evil Deed Possible]:
"It's fine. I already took a screenshot. I'll print it out later and measure it with a ruler. I should be able to figure out where the centers of the black holes are."
"Legend!"
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"Those are the Holy Grails."
The Romani in the movie wasn't about to pause and let the audience study the map. He continued his explanation.
"The Director mentioned this before, didn't she? The Holy Grail possesses the power to grant any wish. Lev used that power to alter history itself."
"What do you mean?"
Romani's explanation was well beyond Ritsuka's level of understanding.
No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't comprehend why changing history would lead to humanity's extinction.
"That's true. If only small details of the past are altered, the overall direction of the future usually won't change. Even if history diverges somewhat, it shouldn't result in humanity's extinction."
At this point, Romani paused.
The black singularities displayed on the screen reflected in his eyes.
Looking directly at him, Ritsuka felt as though he might be pulled into those swirling voids.
"But what if the thing being altered is a decisive choice that determines humanity's fate?"
Ritsuka's pupils contracted.
"A... decisive choice?"
"What if that war had never ended..."
"What if that voyage had failed..."
"What if that invention had never succeeded..."
"What if that nation had never achieved independence..."
Romani rattled off several examples in succession.
Though he wasn't speaking loudly, Ritsuka heard every word clearly.
"If one changes a moment like that in the past, human history becomes drastically distorted. Once that distortion reaches the point where the world can no longer correct it, human civilization begins to collapse upon itself."
Romani continued:
"The seven locations on that map are precisely those kinds of critical historical events. Lev chose them as his targets, altered them, and succeeded."
"So they're like Fuyuki City?"
Ritsuka immediately remembered the burning city with not a single survivor.
"Yes," Romani nodded.
"Because the foundation of human civilization itself has begun to crumble. If left to continue developing along those altered paths, humanity's extinction becomes a predetermined outcome."
Ritsuka swung his arm emphatically.
"What kind of answer is that?! Isn't there any way to stop it?"
"..."
Romani pressed his lips together and slowly spoke a single term:
"Spiritron Conversion."
"Huh?"
Romani let out a long sigh.
"Just like what you did in Fuyuki City. By Rayshifting to the Singularities and restoring history to its proper course. If successful, the Singularity will disappear. That's the only way to save human civilization."
"Then let's do it immediately—!!"
"However," Romani interrupted sternly, "the only person capable of Rayshifting is you."
"Huh?"
The unexpected answer nearly made Ritsuka lose his composure.
"Spiritron Conversion requires a very rare aptitude. Even after searching the entire world, Chaldea only found forty-eight qualified individuals. Aside from them, the only other person capable of Rayshifting is Mash, now that she's become a Servant."
Ritsuka immediately understood.
Of those forty-eight people, forty-seven were currently in intensive care.
The only one still able to run around was himself.
"In that case—"
"—Wait. Don't answer so quickly."
Romani stopped him before he could give a hasty response.
"Ritsuka, do you understand what agreeing to repair the Singularities means?"
Ritsuka tilted his head blankly.
"That I'll have to fight?"
"If you want to reclaim the future beyond 2016, you'll have to go through seven missions just like Fuyuki City—no, missions even more dangerous than that! You'll have to travel alone"—he emphasized the word—"through different countries and different eras, fighting against seven distorted chapters of human history! One wrong step, and you'll lose your life!"
"Master Candidate No. 48, Fujimaru Ritsuka. Do you have that resolve? Can you answer the expectations of Chaldea's surviving staff? Do you have the determination to shoulder the future of all humanity?"
Romani's questions struck Ritsuka's heart like heavy hammers.
With every word, something inside him ignited.
Anger.
Regret.
Frustration.
Disappointment.
Negative emotions flooded the boy's heart.
"What's the world outside like?"
His face was expressionless.
He couldn't even force out a smile to pretend confidence.
"Communications are completely cut off. None of the staff sent outside to investigate have returned... Chaldea's exterior has most likely already been destroyed. Right now, we are probably the last Noah's Ark of human civilization."
"I see..."
Romani's answer made Ritsuka lower his head.
Perhaps realizing his words had crushed the boy's spirit, Romani hurriedly tried to reassure him.
"But Chaldea itself is still safe. Thanks to CHALDEAS's magnetic field and the fully deployed defensive barriers, even Lev can't interfere with us here."
"I want to make a phone call!"
Suppressing the turmoil inside him, Ritsuka spoke with stubborn determination.
"My father, my mother, my friends... I suddenly disappeared. They must be worried about me, right?"
"If I could talk to them about this incredible place, tell them about the new companions I've met here... I think that would have been something really wonderful..."
"But..."
The image of the burning world from his dream resurfaced in his mind.
Ritsuka clenched his fists so tightly his knuckles turned white.
It's not fair.
If everything just ends like this...
It's too unfair.
"Everyone's burning! No one has a future anymore!"
The moment he opened his mouth, tears began to spill out.
The boy gritted his teeth and stared at the floor.
Simply keeping himself from completely breaking down took every ounce of strength he had.
But he couldn't let the Doctor, Mash, or the Chaldea staff present think less of him.
Yet the more he thought that way, the more stubbornly the tears flowed.
In the end, all he could do was speak through a trembling, tear-filled voice.
"I don't have any grand resolve. Even now, I don't fully understand everything that's happening."
"But I hate it!"
"I hate an ending like this!"
"So let me carry that burden."
Ritsuka wiped away his tears with his sleeve and gathered the last of his strength.
"As long as it's something I can do, I'll give it everything I have!"
"Senpai..."
Now it was Mash's turn to be moved to tears.
"Thank you. Those words have decided our fate."
Romani bowed deeply before Ritsuka.
His gratitude was completely sincere.
From the bottom of his heart, he was thankful to him.
The next second, Romani straightened his back and addressed everyone present with a rallying speech:
"To all surviving members of Chaldea!"
"As of this moment, I, Romani Archaman, officially assume the position of Director of Chaldea!"
"I will inherit the mission of the former Director, Olga Marie Animusphere, and ensure the continuation of Human Order!"
"Chaldea's objective is now the protection and restoration of human history!"
"Our targets are the Holy Grails that remain scattered throughout different eras!"
"Our enemy is history itself!"
"Standing before us will be countless legends and heroes!"
"This is both a challenge and an act of sacrilege—drawing our swords against the past itself!"
"To reclaim humanity's lost future, we shall confront the entirety of human history!"
"This is Chaldea's final and first mission—Grand Order, the preservation of Human Order!"
"No matter what ending awaits us ahead, we shall never retreat!"
"As bearers of the highest mission in the world of magecraft, we—the Human Order Preservation Organization, Finis Chaldea—shall reclaim the future!!"
And with that, FGO: Prologue officially came to an end.
"That's it? It's over just like that?"
As the credits and ending theme began to play, Aoko felt thoroughly dissatisfied.
According to the unwritten law of blockbuster movies, whenever there's a grand speech before a battle, an exhilarating fight scene should immediately follow.
Even if the movie was already nearing its conclusion and there wasn't enough time for a major battle, the least it could have done was tease the future enemies!
Instead—
That was it.
Just over.
How was she supposed to deal with all the excitement that had just been built up?
Shinji Matou, could you please do something normal for once?!
"Hey, Nee-san."
Aoko immediately called Touko, who was far away in Fuyuki City.
"Aoko? You're actually calling me directly? That's rare."
"Nee-san, if I remember correctly, your workshop takes any kind of job, right? Can you help me kill someone?"
"Who?"
"Shinji Matou!"
"Ha. You just finished watching the movie, didn't you? I knew it."
"Helping you with that wouldn't be a problem, but don't forget one thing."
"If Shinji Matou is gone, who's going to fill the giant FGO cliffhanger for you?"
"Ugh..."
Touko's answer left Aoko in an agonizing dilemma.
On one hand, she desperately wanted to strangle Shinji for ending the movie right when things were getting good.
On the other hand...
If Shinji died, who would make the sequel?
That was a very serious problem indeed.
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Tn: I updated the story once every 2 days, but if you want to see more chapter of this story ahead of time, please go to my Patreon.
Latest Chapter: Chapter 476: Shirou: I'll Take Both[1]!
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