Fate/EXTRA Part #80 - Update LXX

Part 80: Update LXX - Price of survival

Update LXX - Price of survival

Music: None

...I don't understand. Even though my heart has been pierced through, it feels like the hole is filled.

Astonished, Leo remains unmoving. This must be a truly unbelievable conclusion to him. While staring at his small hand, Leo's breaths become thin and short. His heart will stop moving soon. He doesn't seem to be trying to escape from the pain, though.

Music: Goodbye

Leo smiles with his admission.

I wasn't even capable of imagining what defeat was. I didn't think I was flawless. I just had no fear. The way normal people's hearts quiver...mine never did.

His quiet words are sorrowful, but a smile spreads across Leo's mouth. He's found some happiness even in the arms of defeat and demise. His joy is something very human, and trivial: achievement. His body's coloring slowly darkens. I already know what will happen; I've seen this scene play out before. The king-to-be will vanish. He'll disappear, like the gods have decided he should never have been.

"One more time." "I won't lose next time..." These are complex feelings. "I don't want to give up." That's a compelling feeling. But all of them are positive. I feel bitterness and grief as well. And I fear meeting death.

I had not understood the real meaning of any of these feelings.

...I'm such a fool. Someone like me could never have led the human race.

...

You knew all along that I lacked something necessary to become a true king.

Though you knew what I needed most was to experience defeat, you still helped me win. You gave me your loyalty and risked your life for me. You knew that I would be defeated one day, but you tended to my growth anyway.

Which put Leo into a Catch-22 the moment he entered the Holy Grail War. He needed to learn defeat, but if he won the Holy Grail War the power of the Grail would ensure he would never have a chance to lose, while losing here would end his life. At the end of the day, he was just as damned as Julius from the very moment he came to the Moon.

If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't have realized. I would have seen this defeat as a fluke and coldly ignored it.

I am your sword, your knight. Your growth is your own. However...

We cut to a brief flashback.

I guess if anyone had the resources to keep a Servant around on Earth, it would be the Harways.

Farewell, Sir Gawain.

With those words of praise, Gawain disappears. He makes no excuses and doesn't plead for his life. Of course he doesn't. He gave one hundred percent for Leo. He had no reason to be ashamed. After watching Gawain flicker out, Leo turns back my way. He is crying.

I never even knew a basic feeling like this.

His voice is bathed in sorrow. I don't know if it is sorrow for his death, or the person he was.

I can't retreat after coming so far down this path. Now that I know defeat, I can become a complete king...

Now...

I can't help thinking of mayflies. They're those insects who gain wings to fly, and then die after just a day.

Farewell, Leonardo Bistario Harway.

And then— Leo disappears. Gone without a trace.

So ends the Holy Grail War.

I'm the only one left. An emptiness that I've never gotten used to wrenches my heart. That was the end, though. —Everything is over now.

Music: Stops

...ah fuck now I can't even be coy about it.

Music: School III

The White Knight of the Round Table posted:

The White Knight of the Round Table.

Widely considered to be the equal of King Arthur by many and the wielder of the lesser-known holy sword Galatine, Sir Gawain was fiercely loyal to the King, or more accurately, the King's station. Unlike Sir Bedivere, a trusted friend of Arthur's who wished only that he would find peace and contentment, Gawain's only concern was that Arthur maintain the throne of Britain.

If King Arthur was seen as the personification of the moon, then Sir Gawain was the harbinger of the sun. He was frequently compared with Arthur, although Gawain himself ignored these comparisons and devoted himself to serving his king to the best of his abilities. Though loyal to the end, his irrational hatred of Sir Lancelot proved to be his and Arthur's undoing.

Though Arthur eventually forgave his wayward knight's transgressions, Sir Gawain could not find it within himself to do the same until the very last moments of his life and only after being stripped of his knighthood, excommunicated from the church, and causing the downfall of his sovereign king.

With his dying breath, he swore that if he was ever given a second chance at life, he'd support his king, no matter what. Upon being reincarnated as a Servant, Gawain devotes himself completely to the goals of his Master and by doing so hopes to gain absolution for the sins of his past.

Music: Deathly Silent (The music changes for today.)

I'm the only Master. I'm the last living ”human” in this tournament. ...If ”human" is the right word. Even all the NPCs that used to be here are now gone. There's no more use for them. ...The Holy Grail War ends here. Only the Master and Servant who won the Holy Grail War remain. Plus one system anomaly. In any case, the path to the Holy Grail will open for the winner. Where could it be? While thinking about how annoying looking for it would be-

The Holy Grail War—ends here.

A voice echoes through the speakers. It's a voice I've heard before. It was the voice I heard when I met my Servant at the very end of the preliminaries. It's the guide created by the Holy Grail War system. It must be based on a real person, too.

The path to the Holy Grail is open to you, victor. Pass through the door to the battlefield once more.

...I still don't have any answers. Maybe they will come once I get to the Holy Grail.

The timer is now stuck at zero, forever.

The new lighting, combined with the music, is also kinda eerie. It really drives home the point that this is over, and Hakuno should be leaving now.

Music: Down to Dawn

Huh? Why am I being so gloomy? No, bad cute fox-girl! Tamamo is always bright and cheerful!

Right, we should get going soon! We're only one step away from the Holy Grail of Desire! Let's go get it!

—But! Before that, I suggest that you be totally prepared. ...After all, who knows what's going to happen next?

Strangely, this is the one private room chat that's unvoiced.

Rani's not in her usual spot.

I'd like to give a shoutout to the other hallway on 3F before we go. Other than Alice being here during the prelims and on the first day of the War, absolutely no one used it.

The library girls are gone. So was Issei.

But Kotomine is on 1F, and he has something to say.

Or are you that fond of me?

No, I'm not. In fact, I'm pretty done with this bitter priest. But like it or not, he has always been instrumental to my training and advancement. Even though he's nothing more than an AI, I wanted to say goodbye.

Does that count as some kind of self-racism, considering that Hakuno herself is an AI?

Let me offer some final advice. It is not brief, but the Holy Grail won't be going anywhere.

Advice...? What advice could the Father have, now that the fighting is over?

This isn't to guide you through a fight, but to enlighten you about what you will receive shortly. It may be fairly late in the game to ask this, but what do you know of the "Holy Grail"?

—I already know the basics to it. It is a supercomputer within the moon meant to observe, also known as the Moon Cell Automaton. It is an archive that has recorded the history of Earth, or rather, mankind, since antiquity. ...And magi fought to the death to determine ownership of it.

Still, you need to know a few more details. As the last Master, you ought to know.

An all-purpose wishing machine. Who decided the Moon Cell would only observe, I wonder? Forcing other functions upon what is primarily an observation device is generally impossible there. But the all-seeing eye is lacking the rest of its head. Though all-seeing, the Moon Cell is not a god. It obeys the laws of physics like everything else. Such as the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle. Phenomena that are not observed do not exist. By the same token, all things that are seen must be seen. Even things that are not generally considered to exist. The Moon Cell is a very complete database. It records many "if's" as well. With such operational power, the Moon Cell can both elucidate the past and provide foresight.

A place where every human wish and desire exists. A place to spy upon the future, on that terrible knowledge, much like what Laplace envisioned.

But, if someone with a will could harness the Moon Cell, they would see all of their wishes granted. The validity of one's motives, or even the very presence of motive, is inconsequential. All that matters is that the winner of the Holy Grail War is "strong."

...Just strength. An amoral priest like Kotomine would reduce human struggle to that. Does the Moon Cell...Holy Grail desire strength? Or is that the conclusion reached by whoever created this priest?

What all of you have been crawling over is nothing more than the Moon Cell's surface. Go forth, reigning Master. Deep in the moon, the Ring of Fire awaits your answer. I will wait in front of the Arena. If you find it hard to leave the Moon Cell, come find me.

Read: There is going to be a final boss. If it kicks your ass, you can go grind.

There he is, as he said.

Upon our arrival, something's taking place that we do not understand. There is no reason for the system NPC to know anything more, but with our preparation we should be fine. The shop and church will be usable. Go if you feel the need. If you want more training, you can feel free to use the Arena, as it has been reopened. You no longer have to observe the six-day prep period. Come and go as you please. So, you will go to the Arena?

I'll go.

Very well. If that's the case, I wish you well.

Music: Infinite Chimeric Lunar Sea

Your punishment for not being able to beat the game is banishment to the Orb Dimension one last time.

You can barely even call it a dungeon.

All it has is a giant room in the middle, with exits to the north and south leading to healing fountains and the exit portals.

The only thing of note is this fellow here.

The Babel's Piece is the very last generic enemy in the entire game!

Now, while you can use the Arena to grind forever.

EXP gains drop as you outlevel enemies, so even the Nephilim will rapidly become a drop in the bucket.

Technically speaking, Extra has a level cap of 99, but I'd rather not find out just how hellish the grind for that would be when you combine exponential EXP requirements and constantly lowering enemy values.

And just as Kotomine said:

Music: Deathly Silent

We're no longer bound by the timer, so if you have to grind, your best bet is to kill the two Nephilim on the floor, then leave and come back to respawn them.

The shop is open, but it doesn't have anything new.

However, money carries over into NG+ while items don't. No getting sneaky and bringing in a stockpile of Ether Crystals and Elixirs into Week 1.

So since I'm losing it all anyways, I sell all but my very best stuff for some extra pocket money for the next playthrough.

Music: School III

This is all Touko has to say.

It made me very happy that you kept coming to see me throughout the Holy Grail War. Even if I didn't have much of a presence in the game.

Sakura is just... here, randomly. The only other AI to show up for the finale.

But if that's the role the Moon Cell wished for me, it would be silly to complain. Ah ha ha. All right, my parting gift to you will be a lunch. Huh? Please don't make that face. I haven't put anything strange into it... All right, then. I wish you the best of luck!

...*Sigh* Am I done now?

The legendary version of Sakura's lunch recipe. It is seen as god's gift to the culinary arts.

Sakura's last lunch is, at long last, a full heal.

Rani is waiting by the elevator.

The fight is over, I see. Thank goodness, for I no longer wish to part from you.

Yes. The Holy Grail War is over. I don't see any more problems. Even I'm worried about Rani when she's away. I don't object.

Since there's not going to be enough for a separate update, (and it'll totally kill the flow if I hit the credits only to double back for Rin) I'll be covering both routes concurrently for this.

Rin Route posted:

Well, let's go. We've come this far, let's see it through to the end.

She seems to see no problem with coming with me. I'm not going to object, she's good to have along.

Music: Infinite Chimeric Lunar Sea

Despite Rani being right next to us five seconds ago, she's now nowhere to be found.

But if this walkway looks familiar...

That's because we did something similar during the prologue.

Tamamo starts talking.

Her speech is so long that if you just hold up on the stick and never stop, she'll finish talking just as you reach the end of this hallway.

There are also various screens drifting past. That one on the left looks like mankind finding the Moon Cell.

it's been a lot of fun. Although back then...I have to admit that I thought you'd lose immediately. I've tried to protect you, even though I'm one of the weaker Heroic Spirits. Ah, but when it comes to evil spirits, I'm the strongest woman in the world! Against that kind of enemy, I can take them down with one finger! But, all in all I'm glad that I had you as a Master. This may be the last time we are together so I want to thank you now. For raising the Heroic Spirit Tamamo-no-Mae, I thank you. A human that has as much faith in Tamamo as you do, has never existed until now.

I've been through it before, chosen by a certain magus. That person started out just as weak as you, Master. He had the ability, but he was so gentle and kind that it was obvious he wasn't meant to fight. He was killed countless times and after every defeat he'd start from scratch. —It's odd, isn't it. Though you and his origins are the same, why are you two so different?

Now, this seems a bit out of nowhere, (and also breaking previously established rules) but it does set up some details that will remain relevant in the series going forward.

First off, Fate has always been a bit indecisive on if a Servant can remember stuff between summonings. Stay Night even had it be an explict plot point that Artoria can remember the events of Zero, but over time Type Moon have seemed to settle into a stance of 'Servants know of their other selves, but have no personal memories of it.' Avicebron in Grand Order knows what his Apocrypha self has done, but explictly says he's not that man.

The one exception to this is Fate/Extra. The Moon Cell is just so powerful that it can directly mess with the Throne of Heroes, and as the Throne exists outside of time, those changes apply to any Servants summoned in other timelines. As a result, Tamamo has full recall of this previous Holy Grail War, and the Tamamo-no-Mae you summon in Grand Order is the exact same one you see here.

Granted, it could have used a lot more setup. Hell, you'll find that a lot of Extra's endgame can be described as 'technically foreshadowed, but only for like five seconds at the start of the game.' The only thing that hinted about this was a single line back in Week 1!