[Video Danmaku]
Otto Apocalypse: "I see. So the multiverse known as the Type-Moon world is in the vicinity of our own?"
Conan: "A lot of things make sense now. For example, why Elysia would appear in that world for no reason, or why the world didn't reject her."
Kars: "Truly hard to imagine. The world itself possesses a consciousness? But that is unimportant. I, Kars, will eventually conquer the world."
King of Conquerors: "Hoh—to think there is another in this multiverse who shares the same ambition as I, Iskandar!"
L: "There should be about three days left in the Holy Grail War. However, going by Solomon's intentions, the Holy Grail will likely appear in less than two."
Waver: "Whatever that Lord of Astromancy is thinking, the world's own Counter Force has personally stepped in to stop him. He is definitely up to no good."
DIO: "A man who stands against the world... Interesting. This is what makes it interesting. Let me, DIO, witness your schemes—"
As the true reason for Elysia's arrival in the Type-Moon world was revealed, a growing number of comments expressed their utter shock.
For the worlds within two different "multiverse boxes" to be able to communicate with each other was something that should have been impossible. And yet, this impossible phenomenon had actually happened.
Within the scope of the multiverse, anything was possible.
---o---
[In the video—
The camera shifted from Marisbury to the Einzbern Castle.
The time was now late at night. Normal people were already deep in slumber.
But as participants in the Holy Grail War, Saber's group and Lancer were not resting.
Outside Elysia's temporary room, Lancer leaned against the door. He did not trust Kiritsugu Emiya. Even though Kayneth had treated him horribly, Kayneth was still his former master.
To deal with Kayneth using such cruel methods, to be so unscrupulous in achieving his goals—Kiritsugu's actions forced Lancer to be on his highest alert.
Lancer was absolutely convinced that, given the chance, Kiritsugu Emiya would kill Elysia without hesitation. Thus, he stood guard outside her door, his main purpose being to protect her from that treacherous man.
Time ticked by, second by second, but Lancer did not move. Kiritsugu Emiya should be in the conference room discussing their next move with Saber and the others, but that meant nothing to Lancer. His one great wish in this Holy Grail War had already been fulfilled by Elysia.
But... as he stared at Elysia's closed door, a sense of foreboding rose from his heart for some reason.
"It's been three or four hours already. Why hasn't there been the slightest sound? Is my Lord resting?"
Lancer asked himself. What was this ill omen welling up from his heart? Could something have happened to his Lord?
But that was impossible. He, Diarmuid, had been guarding the door the entire time. Besides, his Lord's strength was far greater than his own.
"..."
A little more time passed. The sounds of Kiritsugu and Saber's discussion could be heard from the conference room, but Lancer no longer had any interest in listening.
He might disturb his Lord, but he had to confirm Elysia's condition now, even if it meant being punished later.
"My Lord, can you hear me? It is too quiet in the room. I wish to confirm your condition. May I enter?"
Silence... There was not a single response in the empty corridor. Strange. This was too strange. It was strange to the extreme.
Lancer's voice wasn't loud, but it was enough for anyone inside the room to hear. Moreover, with Elysia's immense power, she could hear a pin drop from dozens of meters away.
And yet now... there was no response at all. Could it be that Elysia heard him but chose not to answer? Or was it...
The sense of foreboding in his heart grew stronger, compelling Lancer to place his hand on the doorknob. Something was wrong... something was very wrong. He had to go in and see.
"My Lord, I'm coming in."
With those words, Lancer turned the knob and entered the room.
...
Although it was a simple, temporary lodging, the room was still neat and clean. The Einzbern Castle was huge, and this room had been unoccupied, so it had gathered a lot of dust.
It must have been Elysia who had tidied it up. There was almost no dust in the air.
"My Lord?" After entering, the first thing Lancer saw was Elysia lying on the bed.
Was she resting? Perhaps she was so tired she hadn't heard his voice... or was she?
How is that possible—!!
If she were asleep, why was she not breathing—and if she weren't asleep, it was impossible that she wouldn't have responded to his voice.
He quickly approached Elysia's side. He saw her eyes were shut tight, her body completely still.
"My Lord, forgive my impertinence."
Lancer gently lifted Elysia's wrist, feeling for a pulse.
"So cold... so quiet..."
There was not a single stir, not a trace of color. At this moment, Lancer was certain. His Lord... Elysia... she... was dead—
Elysia is dead. Elysia is dead? ELYSIA IS DEAD!
Just a few hours ago, she had been so full of life, with nothing amiss. How could she have suddenly died?
Who did this? WHO DID THIS?
Countless thoughts converged in Lancer's mind, but one thing was certain... he... was about to go completely insane.
"Aaaahhhh—!!!!!"
After confirming Elysia's condition, Lancer let out a wail of fury and agony!
If there truly was a god in this world, then that god was far too cruel to him. In the Knights of Fianna, he was brought down by the lord he served loyally. In the Holy Grail War, he died once again because of his master. And now... Diarmuid, who had finally found salvation, who had finally had his wish fulfilled, had been cast back into hell once more.
His salvation, his goddess, everything he revered, now lay lifeless before him, and he hadn't even had a chance to react.
"Lancer—what happened?"
Lancer's agonized wail had undoubtedly attracted Saber and Kiritsugu from the conference room. They thought an enemy had invaded.
At that moment, Saber, who arrived first, saw Diarmuid kneeling beside Elysia. The surroundings were completely undamaged; it didn't look like an enemy intrusion at all.
"Saber, what is it?" Kiritsugu arrived, his submachine gun raised. The castle's magical defense systems hadn't been triggered. He had thought someone like Solomon or the King of Heroes had arrived.
"It was you, wasn't it—This is your territory, it must have been you—"
After the initial shock of extreme rage and grief, Lancer directed all his fury at the person he now believed to be the most likely culprit. That's right, this was Kiritsugu Emiya's territory. Only he had the ability to kill Elysia without a sound.
Combined with the man's shameless tactics from before, Lancer was now almost completely certain that Kiritsugu was the one who did it.
"Me?" Kiritsugu, with a spear pointed at him, looked utterly bewildered. He then glanced at Elysia lying behind Lancer and more or less understood what was happening.
Had something happened to Elysia? The most likely culprit was Solomon. To infiltrate the Einzbern Castle silently and complete the kill—aside from the long-dead Assassin, only Solomon was capable of such a feat.
Compared to the irrational Lancer, Kiritsugu's deduction was far more logical. Given the power Elysia had displayed, how could he, Kiritsugu Emiya, possibly have the means to kill her without a sound?
Forget him; even Saber or that golden Archer would have found it impossible. That left only Solomon.
Unfortunately, the current Lancer was in no state to listen to any explanations. He had already decided that Kiritsugu was the culprit. His twin spears materialized in his hands, and with a roar of pain and despair, Lancer charged at Kiritsugu Emiya.
"Clang—" Saber's holy sword blocked Lancer's path. Her guess was similar to Kiritsugu's, but... did she really have to defeat Lancer first?
The clash of the holy sword and the twin spears generated a shockwave of magical energy and wind pressure that began to crack the surrounding walls. In his fury, Lancer no longer cared for so-called chivalry. He just wanted to kill Kiritsugu Emiya.
"Lancer! Are you going to fight here?!" Saber's roar awakened a sliver of Lancer's remaining consciousness. He glanced back at Elysia's body.
To fight here would be a dishonor to Elysia's spirit. To kill Kiritsugu, he had to get past Saber, but fighting here would inevitably disturb Elysia's remains.
"Saber, let us continue our unfinished battle in the Demonic Realm Forest—I, Diarmuid, swear to send Kiritsugu Emiya to hell, to let his soul burn in its fires for all eternity, as a memorial to my Lord!"
With that, Lancer swung his red spear, collapsing the wall near the door to prevent Kiritsugu from entering the room. He and Saber then vanished from the spot, clearly heading to the forest near the castle to fight.]
---o---
[Outside the video—
Elysia was dead. After Lancer confirmed this result, the unexpected was bound to happen.
In the Honkai World, the Sea of Quanta—
"BOOM—"
With a tremendous tremor, the entire Sea of Quanta felt the violent shock. The cause of it all was clearly Kevin, from some unknown corner of the Sea.
Kevin had always been calm, especially after the destruction of the Previous Era. He had hardly shown any emotional fluctuations since. But after seeing Elysia die in the video, fifty thousand years of silence erupted into a powerful emotional surge.
Hatred, grief, perhaps a mix of everything. But his years of experience allowed him to quickly calm down again. Elysia wouldn't die for no reason, and this method of death was far too strange. There had to be some kind of twist later on.
But... that didn't change the fact that the current Kevin was furious. Immense power surged from his body. With Kevin at the center, the quantum Honkai Beasts for thousands of miles around were affected, beginning to disintegrate and vanish into nothingness.
This was the strongest warrior of the Previous Era, the last hope of human civilization. Even after being weakened in the Sea of Quanta for millennia, his power was still this terrifying.
In the Elysian Realm—
Eden remained silent, but Pardofelis next to her had a very strong feeling. She really wanted to run away. For Eden, even the death of the Elysia in the video was unacceptable. This was definitely the calm before the Golden Wrath.
Moreover, with all the commotion just now, few of the Thirteen Flame-Chasers could likely remain calm. The entire Elysian Realm was probably about to explode. This was just a data space; it couldn't withstand such turmoil. Hopefully, Klein wouldn't be too troubled by this.
The only safe place in the entire Elysian Realm was probably right next to Elysia.
However, as the aura around Eden grew stronger and more uncontrollable, Pardo feared she had nowhere to run. As it neared its breaking point, Pardo prayed inwardly, "Elysia, I don't wanna die! Save me!"
"My~~ Eden, my dear Eden, what's wrong? Why are you so angry?"
Perhaps Pardo's prayers worked. As a voice rang out, the Golden Wrath vanished in the blink of an eye, so quickly that Pardo almost thought her previous sensation was just an illusion.
"Elysia, you must have seen what happened in the video," Eden said. Only by Elysia's side could she remain calm. To her, Elysia was undoubtedly her everything.
"It's alright, really. Why is everyone like this? Not just you, but everyone else too. It's just a video. Aren't I still right here, perfectly fine?"
Elysia said in a light and cheerful voice. "Besides, Eden, don't forget, I'm the protagonist in there~~~ How could the protagonist die before the finale?"
Elysia's comforting words slowly calmed Eden's heart. It was true... something might have happened to the Elysia in the video, but there was no way she would die so simply.
Now, all they had to do was wait for the reveal. But... no matter what, the way the video presented this was infuriating. What kind of god with a twisted sense of humor would use such a dramatic method?
The Elysian Realm would not be peaceful today. Although Elysia could comfort Eden, the other Flame-Chasers were not so easily placated.
It wouldn't take long for the Flame-Chasers' anger to dissipate under Elysia's persuasion, but the impact on the Elysian Realm was not small. Many places had been erased.
Fortunately, there were no visitors in the Realm at the moment. The only one injured was probably Klein. She would likely have to work overtime for a few more decades to restore the damaged areas to their original state.