Part 96: Update LXXXII - Suspicious girl

Update LXXXII - Suspicious girl

This update covers the events of Update XXXI to XXXIV.



Rin and Rani get matched up.





And we go to the Multimedia Room.

Music: Duel of Fate








Music: Duel - Kill Or Be Killed


And then they fight.







Saber declares Rin's victory, seemingly arbitrarily.

The Servants are equally matched, but that girl has more creativity at her disposal. So she will win. She is better able to exploit her enemy's weaknesses. She wields her brain as if it were a blade itself. The darker skinned girl realizes, but does not have the cleverness to counter. It must frustrate her.

Rin notices she's winning, too. Her posture is full of confidence. On the other hand, there is a hint of alarm on Rani's otherwise expressionless face.

Music: Breach


And then Rani self-destructs.



Even the victor will suffer greatly. It is possible that both contenders will end up perishing—

As Saber cuts herself off, she looks directly at me and says in an annoyed tone of voice—



I didn't realize I was telegraphing my emotions. But, more importantly, what did my Servant just say? Could there be some way to save them? It sounds like there might be, but Saber wasn't enthusiastic.

Yes. Indeed, there is. I intended to keep it to myself, yet I find you dragging it from me.

Although reluctant, the young blond Servant points at my left hand. At my Command Seals.



But, their location is walled off. I would require the assistance of a Command Seal to transit there.

So, it's actually impossible. Still, Command Seals exist to make miracles happen...



...Wipe that look off your face! I cannot believe I must ask this, but I will ask anyway...

Do you truly intend to save one of those girls?



Look, I've already pulled double duty on routes with Tamamo, so Nero and Archer are only getting one each.

Music: Battle - Fourth Chimeric Lunar Sea








If we can last even a round, we can escape when the SE.RA.PH's forced termination activates!



Well if you're giving me the choice to not use one...



Now that we're entering the midgame and enemy Skills are starting to become an actual threat, the lack of a solid defensive option like Caster's Aphotic Cave will become very, very painful.

Music: Duel - Prelude to Confrontation






Music: None




Music: School IV


Come to think of it, I haven't heard a peep out of my Servant in a while. They must be angry...



Why did you show compassion to that woman?! She is not even a friend, much less a comrade! You turn my stomach! Be gone from my sight!

She's never been so openly hostile toward me before. She must be very angry about what I did. ...But, wait. I've heard her say that she admires kindness before. So why is she angry at me for showing compassion...?



...Ah, I see. She's just so imperious that I don't dare criticize her. Saber broods in angry silence. Rani doesn't look like she'll wake up, so I might as well go now.

Hey, all this was in the cut content post! Nice to see when assets that would normally be ditched entirely get recycled somewhere else.



If the game put more effort into building up its actual villain, maybe.











Music: Duel of Fate


Hi Gatou!



Music: School I




If you still doubt the rightness of your actions, why not visit the ones you've saved, as boring as it'll be.

Aaaaaand back to intentionally generic lines.

But on the plus side...

Music: Down to Dawn


Nero's yellow chat for the week takes place on the very first day!

Tamamo's was all the way on day 5, for comparison.



Time for a lesson in Nero's... 'artistic tastes.'



One day, in a play for the king, the boy fully expressed his anguish at growing up an orphan. His father was acting with him, and at the boy's divine performance, the father's heart exploded! Yet, as the father was the genius who begot a genius, he swallowed the blood and continued singing. Thus they sang in competition for three days, making the sky rumble with their might, until they tired. ...Aah! What spectacular pomp! Enough so that I am willing to overlook the glaring plot holes!

So, you're saying the father didn't die even when he was killed?

...Saber is pretty passionate about this play. It must be her favorite.



Oh christ...

The plinking of the talented young boy's harp reached Persia. The Persian king longed to make the boy his, though the king himself was so handsome I nearly fell for him. But, the boy's female lover had lost her little brother's life to the Persian king. To avenge her brother, she dropped some poison into the king's food at a party.

Saber's story doesn't stop at one twist or two. No, there are a couple dozen twists, and over a hundred characters bound by love and hate. I guess for there to be a couple dozen twists, all the characters have to be in an emotional orgy.

Hmm? The story is too long? There is no end in sight? ...Sheesh, have you been paying any attention? We have reached the climax already. You should know what happens next. The boy becomes the king of Persia, of course!

This Prince of Persia reboot sounds wild, ngl.

There was no way I could have predicted that. The only plot arc that got resolved was the protagonist's, and he wasn't even all that happy at the end. If that's the end of the story, then those hundred side characters are doomed to a bad ending.



That's cheating! And I don't know what era Saber's from, but deus ex machina must be an old concept! ...More importantly, I know Saber pretty well from fighting alongside her for a while. For being a romantic and idealist, she doesn't like fantasy. Is she okay with a deus ex machina?

Hmm? It is a staple of theater, though I am not so fond of it.

I prefer an ending where the many plots are resolved, yes. And without a god's intervention, human animosity and love cannot easily be erased. The playwright must have reached the end of his rope. But, most writers know the tangled web of human emotions cannot be undone by humans themselves.

So, the deus ex machina is an expression of hope. A last hope, to be sure, a mirage created by those on the verge of ruin, wishing for a savior.



The kind of god who only shows up when one is at their deathbed and has no other god to pray to.

If the bit with her childhood name and her mention of Tactitus didn't tip you off to Nero's true name, this is your next major clue.

Now, actual historians are doubtful if the real Nero's oppression of Christians ever happened, or if it was just some post-facto slander done by anyone with a bone to pick with him, but it looks like Fate's Nero did indeed do it.

Saber finally stops speaking. ...She glances away sheepishly. That example at the end seemed too personal to be purely hypothetical.





Go start Rani's existential crisis.



Get Rin's murder pendant.



And off to the Arena.

Music: Fourth Chimeric Lunar Sea - First Floor




Our opponent seems to be here, but their presence is somewhat... unnerving. Until we obtain information on them, let's avoid running into them. The Servant may not even be human.





What was that, Nero? Run into them?



Stay alert, Praetor!





Although I am ready to cross swords with them, I have a bad feeling. It's as if that woman isn't human...

If Saber wants to retreat, then I better follow her advice. Retreat for now, and when we know more about them, then we can engage.





Music: School III


I am speaking specifically about what that girl gave you today. You should be more suspicious. Making allies of your enemies is a strange way to go about things. If this is how you want to proceed, then you should ask that girl about those magic distortions.







Have a spooky dream.

...does that gap look five characters wide to you? I think that's hiding Twice's name.

Still no explanation about how Hakuno got plugged into his memories, mind.



Music: School I


At any rate, we should focus on that noise we found yesterday. It could be a trap.

...Right. I'll find out what that means. Rin's probably in her usual spot. I'll stop worrying about Rani long enough to ask about my headache.



Nero's generic line, as I forgot to check it yesterday.



We go find out that we're a ghost.



Have a friendly chat with Rani.





Get another rank in Strength.



And back to the Arena.

Music: Fourth Chimeric Lunar Sea - First Floor




We managed to obtain the Trigger. Who are those two, anyway? That Master is truly an oddity.

Although the only thing here today is the Trigger.



Also the first Nephilim.



But Nero's going to have a much easier time dealing with them than Tamamo did.







Music: School III


Next time: This is a filler week, what is there to say?