Part 71: Update LXIII - 100 views of corpses

Update LXIII - 100 views of corpses

Music: None




That was definitely a voice. I suddenly feel as if a wave of negative emotions is washing over me.



Caster's words immediately bring me back to reality. While the aura of negativity is still very much there, the voice that seemed to ring in my head is gone. There's no doubt as to who that voice belongs to. But...how? If I want to know the truth, I have to keep moving forward—!

Music: Fear


Well, it looks like Julius has learned to make barriers out of pure hate.

That's, uh, new...



Just ahead is a new Inspire-type.



Called a Thelemagica.

Remember when I said I had something stupid to do?



This is it.

If you'll recall, Tamamo had a room chat for taking 10,000 total damage over the course of the game. There are two additional chats for taking damage.

...by which I mean that there's one at 100,000 and 300,000 damage.



Suffice to say, Tamamo is going to be taking a lot of punishment this week, which means I'll be popping an Ether Crystal after every single fight.



Just ahead is another blocked door. (Which I'll now refer to as a 'hate gate')



I take a moment to pop view_map();, and we can see a telltale red Master arrow all the way by the exit portal.



Up the ramp is another field we have to run through.



There's no way diving into the manifested hatred of a broken killer could backfire on us!

Music: Stops


I try to stop the intrusion of these evil thoughts into my consciousness, but they continue to enter my mind.



What? What is this? These overwhelming emotions- What's the source of this deranged irrationality that is rejected and rejects, denies and is denied? It feels as if it crawled out from the darkest depth of hell—!











Refrain. Stop. The voice suddenly stops. As I concentrate harder, I can see a figure beyond the distortion. That—must be a woman. I focus my concentration and as I stretch out my hand, a scene plays out before me—



That voice— It sounds much younger, but it definitely belongs to Julius. Though his voice is audible, his figure doesn't appear. This must be his memory, then. The woman named Alicia turns toward Julius, but time has degraded the memory of her facial features.



Yes, the ma=ter has ca=ed.

I see... So it's that =me all=ady. The sunlight was so wa=felt so g==hat I just happened to forg==time it was.

Let us=urry.

*Giggle* We===n't get pun= = if we make hi=== wa= just a little longer. Anyw==, Ju=s, you're= ==son so w====n't it ==better====father?



And suddenly a poison symbol! It probably means nothing, I just found it funny.

The==nly= =f the Har==ys== =====Leo.



The sound of Caster's panicked shouting brings me back to reality. The voices I heard in those memories faded at the end and I couldn't understand them, but those memories definitely belong to Julius. Perhaps he was trying to tell me something. Buried under all those dark memories was...a cry of sorrow? I have to go on. I have to learn what the owner of that voice is seeking.

Music: Fear


Right past that is the most useless hate gate here. All it does is block off a small short cut and force us to fight a single enemy!



The minimap shows a link to the south, but you can barely see that the ground is far below us and they just happen to line up.



Ahead is a new Crescent Horn-type.



Which will one day go off to kill Superman.



Another screaming face awaits us just before the second healing fountain.



So let's ignore Tamamo's advice and listen to the voices of the dead!

Music: Stops


—Concentrate, on the owner of these voices. I'm drawn into those dark thoughts. Avoiding the distortions that try to envelop me, I reach out with my mind— Where is that figure? When I settle my thoughts, a scene suddenly begins to play in my mind. Is this the continuation of that scene from before...?



*Giggle* Making him wait just a little longer won't be enough to get us in trouble. Anyway, Julius, you're his son. Why don't you call him "father"?

I can't. I don't have the right. I was not born with that which is needed to lead the Harways. The one who will succeed the throne is Master Leo.

That's how it is... Tell me, what is it that he has been so occupied with as of late?

He is receiving training by having knowledge burned into his brain. It's a sound thaumaturgical process.

...All of that horrible surgery and he's only three... Even as his mother I so rarely see him.



Master Leo will one day stand at the pinnacle of the plutocracy the Harways have built in Europe.

For all the flaws in Artoria's rule, she was at least given a choice to walk away from the Sword of Selection. Leo wasn't even allowed that. He was made to rule and nothing else.

The ruler of Western Europe... A burden that pains a mother to see her child shoulder... Julius.

Yes?

That== Ple= pr==ct Leo.

Yes. I exist only fo= that =urpose -All=dy now, to make the relic====Holy Grail, ==='s, have Servan==.



Wait, what the fuck is the timeline here? Leo's three, but Julius has already summoned Li for the Holy Grail War? Does the Moon Cell allow you to pre-summon a Servant? Did they just shove Li into a flash drive until it was time to go to the moon?

Juli===...=

...I===logize!== =abble on====sn't asked===...

It's all r====... ===plore= ab=== Leo.

Ye=== Ev=nge fo== life==...



-Something is there. -What is it that you want to say?! And when I finally reach the absolute depths of the blackened soul behind these memories—







Caster is almost screaming in desperation and fear. It seems that I'm...still alive.



Music: Fear


But it was there, a cry for help in the depths of Julius's consciousness. I have to know what it means—



Past the healing fountain is a double whammy of new enemies.



First we have a new Nephilim.



And a new Fishbite!



The Trigger is behind a hate gate, so we won't be getting it just yet.



Finally, we have one last hate gate blocking off some loot, and a final barrier between us and Julius.





I somehow know that that hatred is directed at me. It is so intense that it feels as if my very soul is being impaled by it.



But now he's just a shambling corpse. And as long as you're here, Tamamo is invincible! Now, just hand me a shot— I mean, say the word and he's toast! Also, we have to beat him to get out of here...

Archer Tamamo when, Lasengle?

The source of this feeling of hatred is Julius, but... His power seems different than when I last faced him. The threat before me is very real, but I have Caster by my side. And if I don't defeat the enemy before me, I'll never make it to the Elimination Battle. In addition— Even as the force of his grudge hits me, I feel something other than a desire for my death. I want to know what that feeling is, no matter what may be waiting for me up ahead.



There they are, but even from here they both look a lot worse for wear.



The man standing there greeted me in a quiet voice. The serenity of his voice contrasted with the chaotic and noise-filled atmosphere of the Arena.



...Is that not so? You defeated me, but I have returned because of a question I wish to ask you. Also, I will not be defeated by one such as you. I cannot allow myself to fall to one such as you. ...I don't quite understand what exactly is driving me, but it is those feelings that brought me here.

Music: Stops


Music: Breach


This is truly just too funny. Am I the only one who knows who and what you really are?! Ha...hahahahahahahahaha! Unlike a mere ghost such as yourself, I am ALIVE! After I fell I became a ghost. While falling through the perdition created by SE.RA.PH, I fought to continue on! Right at the end, I saw the truth! As the Moon Cell began to tear me apart, I saw what you really were!

And as if the remnants of his sanity finally snapped, Julius suddenly lets out a roar of maniacal laughter. In addition to the hatred and insanity reflected in his eyes, there was— A sense of obligation and duty? Has the killer before me come back from the dead to fulfill his duty—?

That's exactly right. I could accept defeat at the hands of any other Master but you. You being the one to defeat me is unacceptable. Whether this world lives or dies should be decided by us. Choices that will determine the fate of the world should be made by those living in the present. Not by you— A relic of the past like you should not be allowed to influence what happens in the here and now!

Music: Stops
Sound: Heartbeats


You know, I think this makes Julius the only person outside of Hakuno's team to find out about the whole AI thing.



Huh, so the Moon Cell bases the AI it makes for the Grail War off of dead people. Makes sense, really. It already has all the data on everyone who ever lived, and using someone else saves it from having to make some form of algorithmic AI generator.

...wait, does this mean Sakura, Taiga, Kotomine, and Issei are already dead in this timeline? What the hell is Rin's deal, then?















The changes that must be made in this era will need to be done by us— Leo, my brother must be king, or- That's it. That must be the reason. That's my one responsibility. That is what keeps me trapped here. Ah...but nothing matters. Please, put me out of my misery. Round six has already come and gone. One more person... One last victim... Once I kill you, my duty will be done.



The man hisses out his command. For a moment, I'm violently dizzy. As my vision spins, I fall into a pit of darkness—!



Oh god what the fuck!

What did he do to you, Li!?

Music: Duel - Kill Or Be Killed




My Servant lets out a small cry of surprise.

...Oh dear god, that's some other person's arm attached to him! That is so incredibly disgusting.

Julius must've ambushed a great number of Masters and killed them. He somehow managed to preserve one of his victim's arms and appropriate their Command Seal. I wonder which Master's arm he stole. What if that arm belonged to the Master of Berserker?

...you know, the funny thing is that line works regardless of route.

It just doesn't make sense, as we see Gatou or Rani fade out from start to finish, so there's no real chance for Julius to pop in and yoink an arm.

It looks like Julius's crime against nature turned Assassin into a Berserker. What a disaster.

Most Servants have only one class, but this one has the attributes of two. His power must be incredible. I can't believe that this Servant's mind and body have been able to endure this outrageous injustice—

Hakuno, Li's mind has clearly been unable to endure this.



Now— Burn to ashes—!







Despite the class change, we still have a Level E Matrix against Julius.



"Grrr~!" Are you a wild beast now, sir?

But they're so out of it that I get every move revealed, every turn. And despite Hakuno's claims of Li being even more powerful with two classes, his health has actually dropped to a pitiful 10K. I'd actually have to try to lose this fight.



Anyways.

Music: Stops


It will not happen! I will not lose to you! I suffered through hell itself! My consciousness was ripped from me! In death I know what it means to live! Once I defeat you, everything will come to an end! My suffering will be over—!

His crazed voice is tinged with sorrow. As I realize this, a rushing noise reaches my ears. I am forcibly drawn into a violent maelstrom— My body feels like a piece of paper fluttering in the wind. As I start to black out, I am shocked by what I see— Is Julius actually crying...?



Music: Duel - Kill Or Be Killed


Back in serious land, 10K HP is nothing at this stage of the game, so I can go all out without caring for my MP reserves.





The only thing that can trip you up is that Li has picked up an actual offensive Skill, and will use it as his first action every turn.



He also has a new buff, which adds Stun to his Breaks. He still keeps Heightened Chi and Charged Chi, and Julius himself changed his Code Cast to heal(64);







But they never get a chance to use them on account of a sudden case of instantaneous death.





On the plus side, Julius got us our first level of the week!

And since I can't really throw their new lines in their old Matrix page, I'll just toss them in here:

Battle start

How shameful. Women hate persistent boys.

I'LL ELIMINATE YOU! ESPECIALLY YOU, YOU BASTARD!!!

~~

Command Select

AAAAAAA, AAAAAAAAAAAAAA-!!

"Grrr~!" Are you a wild beast now, sir? (Battle start)

~

Now then... I'll put you out of your misery... (High health)

~

Suffer to the very end... (High health)

~

Ahh... Put me out of my misery... (Low health)

~~

Attacks

EYESORE!! (Enemy Extra attack)

~

I'LL FIGHT TILL I'VE ROTTED AWAY!! TILL WE ALL ROT AWAY!!

AAAAAAAAA-!! (heal(64))

Next time: Even at the end of the game, filler is unavoidable.