While Vahn was busying himself with burrowing through the outer shell of the Moon Cell, the group of would-be Heroes had gathered around Archimedes in the room designated as Control Center 47, a deadpan expression on his face as he read the report issued by SE.RA.PH.
Gathered behind Archimedes, a group of nineteen people had gathered, each with appearances that distinguished them amongst ‘normal’ people. Some wore outfits that represented specific periods in humans history while others, despite wearing ‘normal’ clothes, gave off monstrous, ethereal, or, even godly, vibes.
Amongst the group, primarily comprised of females of various shapes and sizes, a handsome man wearing a suit of gaudy golden armor stood out. He had pupilless green eyes that refracted light in much the same way as emeralds, but, despite wearing an ornate crown atop his head, he gave off a slovenly and scornful aura as he droned, “Hooo…that man seems to be trying his best, no~? Tell me, Archimedes, why have you gathered us here~? Don’t tell me you can’t even handle a single intruder on your own~?”
Without a single change in his expression, Archimedes continued to monitor the large display as he answered, “That ‘man’, as you call him, is capable of destroying Photonic Crystals with raw physical power. Even if you were to strike at it for a thousand years, you would not be able to leave so much as a single scratch upon the Moon Cell’s surface. I would suggest you prepare yourself for the battle to come, as, amongst everyone here, you are the most at risk of being put to death as a result of the Emperor’s nature…”
Hearing Archimedes’ retort, the man released a shrill laugh that carried undertones of incredulity and scorn before adopting a crooked leer and shouting, “Do you think I’m afraid of some overgrown lizard!? It’s good that his scales are made of gold because I could use a new pair of greaves…!!”
This time, instead of Archimedes responding, it was Musashi who stated, “Shut up, Jason. You are the most useless person in our entire group. I’m not in the mood to give you another beat down so keep your mouth shut.”
Jason’s expression immediately darkened when he heard Musashi’s words, but, as she had always made good on her promises, he could only grind his teeth in frustration. Fortunately, he wasn’t left to suffer complete indignation, as, in response to Musashi’s words, two women stepped out. The first had doll-like features, with porcelain-white skin, lilac hair, and a petite frame. As for the second, she had distinctly eastern features, including jade-like skin, silky black hair, pale-blue, almond-shaped eyes, and, most notably, a willowy figure clad in a silken, cheongsam, robe.
Being the first to step out, the lilac-haired girl shouted, “Musashi! I won’t allow you to insult Jason as you please!” while brandishing a staff that was longer than she was tall. As for the cheongsam-clad woman, appearing marginally older than her counterpart, she kept her calm and composed look on her face as she politely stated, “Forgive me, Lady Musashi, but, I believe your actions are uncalled for. Now is the time when we should be uniting our strength to repel our foes, not sewing conflict and discord amongst ourselves.”
Despite the woman’s demure and polite countenance, Musashi’s eyes briefly flicked to the bladed fan tightly clenched in her hands. She could also sense magical energy flowing through the silken scarf floating gracefully behind the woman, knowing it could move with lightning speed to bind her foes.
Never one to shy away from ‘most’ battles, Musashi adopted a battle-hungry expression on her face, placing her palm against the hilt of her katana as she muttered, “Behold, a true hero. Witness how he cowers behind women with a snide smile on his face, even as his balls shrivel into his stomach~.”
Jason’s face paled in response to Musashi’s taunting, but, before he could shout out in his defense, a ripple passed through the entire room, encompassing them all. In the next moment, he, along with everyone else, found themselves in some kind of plaza. The most concerning part, however, wasn’t the plaza itself, but, high in the ‘sky’, a nebula of swirling energy could be seen amidst a vast expanse of zeros and ones.
Preceding any questions, Archimedes, now floating in the air before the group, stated, “If you are so eager to do battle, take it out on the Emperor and his forces. This is a digitalized Reality Marble that has been created by the Moon Cell itself. Originally, I had wanted to delay things until the end of this year, but, given the circumstances, we have no choice but to fight. If possible, try and convince that madman that we’re taking his previous warning seriously. The more time you can buy, the better the chances of success.”
Without explaining further, Archimedes tapped on a small window that had appeared in thin air, his figure, along with several others, vanishing in an instant. This left a group of fifteen behind, including the vast majority of Heroic Spirits, Musashi, and Caenis. As a result, Jason immediately tried to take charge of the situation, but, before he could open his mouth, Shirou preempted him by saying, “I will go and meet with the Emperor alongside Musashi. There is a chance we will be able to avoid a fight, but, in preparation for negotiations breaking down, each of you should make your own preparations. I’m certain Archimedes has constructed this Reality Marble in a way that is beneficial to our side so use this as an opportunity to familiarize yourself with it.”
Immediately following Shirou’s words, Jason adopted an incredulous sneer as he droned, “Eeeeeh!? Does anyone else hear a dog barking~!?” Then, without waiting for a response, he began to laugh in a cackling manner before pulling along the doll-like girl and adding, “Come on, girls. We don’t have to listen to his mongrel’s prattlings. Let’s find a nice and isolated place to cut loose and have some fun. Let that idiot go and die on the front lines like the dog he is, ahahahaha-grk…!”
Just as Jason began to walk away, Musashi’s figure vanished from view, reappearing behind him in an instant and whacking the back of his head with her sheath. This caused Jason to bite his tongue hard enough to draw blood before he collapsed onto the ground, his eyes rolled back as spittle and froth leaked from his mouth.
The fall of Jason caused the two women who had previously defended him to each exclaim, but, by the time they turned to face Musashi, she, alongside many of the others, had already vanished. Thus, with bitter expressions on their faces, they helped each other shoulder the unconscious Jason before carrying him off to ‘safety’…
—
Though he had expected some kind of response from the enemy side, Vahn hadn’t anticipated that, after digging through nearly three kilometers worth of Photonic Crystals, he would suddenly be cast into a seemingly infinite expanse of space just as his claws found purchase. The strangest part wasn’t that he had entered what appeared to be a Reality Marble, but, based on what he could tell, it gave off the same impression as the Virtual World. The primary difference between was, instead of being a virtual avatar, Vahn could feel that he was in his normal, draconic, body…
Since there was nothing like gravity, nor any visible landmarks to guide him, Vahn just floated within this peculiar space for several minutes. It wasn’t until flashes of light began to illuminate around him that he began to move again. This wasn’t the result of his choice, however, but the ‘restrictions’ that had suddenly been placed on him. As a result, he found himself oriented towards the direction that now became the ground, while, numbering in the thousands, strange automatons comprised of red and black material began to manifest around him.
Without any prompting, these vaguely humanoid automatons began charging at him, many using their pointed appendages to strike at the golden scales on his body while others, shaped like swords, shields, and even war hammers began to impact against his hide without causing any damage. While this was going on, Vahn silently observed them, his golden eyes blazing with understanding as he saw passed the vertices making up their form, peering directly at the complex network of code that governed their behavior.
Vahn could even see through magical formations formed by higher-tiered beings so it took very little effort for him to interpret the runic coding that drove the automaton’s logic. As a result, he was able to understand their function, and, after a few minutes, he expanded his domain, stating, “Stop.” in a firm tone. In response, the seemingly mindless automatons all froze in place, transitioning from red to a gentle blue as he reverted back to his human form.
Though it would take much longer to gain a complete understanding of the space he had entered, Vahn was about to ascertain that he was in a Virtual Reality Marble created by the Moon Cell. Each of the automatons surrounding him were known as Anti-Viral Attack Programs, designed with the sole purpose of expelling and deleting foreign entities. Unfortunately, while their attacks should even be effective against Gods, they were virtually powerless against him due to his past experiences within the Virtual World.
If it were the same as Da Vinci’s system, the Moon Cell should have been able to eject him whenever it pleased, but, from what he could tell, there was an underlying logic that prevented this from being the case. It was almost like the Moon Cell invited things into it, allowing them to run rampant within a simulated environment entirely under the governance of the system.
What confused and intrigued Vahn was the fact that, despite clearly recognizing him as an invasive element, the Moon Cell seemed to ‘obey’ the influence of external forces. Its structure seemed to change in relation to the ‘expectations’ of those within, emulating an environment that allowed them to express their power with fewer restrictions. As a result, just by standing in one spot for a few short minutes, the floor, which had previously been a panel of solidified blue light, now became a series of marbled tiles while, around him, the Ivory Castle slowly manifested into existence…
While he was curious about the true nature of the Moon Cell, Vahn momentarily discarded wayward thoughts, turning his attention to the peculiar arrangement of ones and zeroes above as he stated, “I invoke my authority as Type: Omega. Whoever is in charge of the Moon Cell, appear before me. Also, block any and all forms of observation involving secondary and tertiary sources. Nothing I say or do is to be disclosed to anyone but the primary Administrator without my direct permission.”
Though he didn’t know how the Moon Cell was structured, Vahn knew that everything within had to be monitored by the governing system. Thus, even without establishing direct contact with the entity in charge, it should still be able to hear and understand his orders.
Immediately following his command, Vahn felt a ripple pass through the surrounding virtual space, much like a Bounded Field being activated. At the same time, the feeling of being watched, which had been present from the moment he was pulled inside the virtual space, faded away. Then, after a few seconds had passed, one of the nearby automatons transitioned from blue to amethyst, its form changing rapidly into something vaguely humanoid, albeit with wing-like protrusions and a large metallic disc hovering above its head.
Unlike the previous automatons, Vahn was unable to see through the structure of the entity before him, so, while not necessarily the case, it gave off the impression of a Tier 5 being. Then, in response to his previous words, it stated in a synthetic voice, “Input accepted. Elevating entity, Vahn Aldrnari Mason to the position of Chief Administrator. Do you wish to be transferred to the Primary Terminal or the Main Core?”
(A/N: Alternate Titles: ‘The golden cuck appears’,’Furiously hits for 0 damage…’,’Top 3 anime betrayal moment’)
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