The infinite sword system has been mastered, and you say this is the dragon clan?

Chapter 352 What Lostbelt? It's clearly a free testing ground!
"puff……"

Gil, who had collapsed to the ground, coughed up a lot of blood. He struggled to raise his head, his huge, almost bulging eyes staring in disbelief at the imposing man who had appeared before him.

The imposing appearance and the resemblance to the King of Hearts in a deck of cards left Gilles de Rais speechless with astonishment. The current ruler of France was Charles VII, whom Gilles undoubtedly knew in his lifetime, but in terms of appearance and bearing, he was utterly incomparable to this man—the difference was like night and day. The unique appearance of the man before him could only remind Gilles of a legendary figure.

Could this person be...?

Karl the Great!?
"You seem to recognize me, but you are not someone I knew in my lifetime, and you still have strong feelings for this land. So you must be from the future. This is your homeland, isn't it?"

The male emperor spoke calmly, looking at the Holy Grail and the book in human skin in his hands. These originally belonged to Gilgamesh.

Although he showed no mercy in the fight, defeating Gil with a single blow and taking the opportunity to steal the two items from the man whose magical energy fluctuated most intensely—the Holy Grail and the grimoire Gil relied on to cast spells, rendering him powerless to resist, he spoke with remarkable calmness.

"..."

When Gilles met Emperor Karl, he immediately admitted his identity, and he was both surprised and filled with despair and helplessness.

It is important to know that Charlemagne, also known as Charlemagne or Charlemagne, ruled the Frankish Kingdom during his lifetime, which nearly unified the whole of Western Europe. His achievements and image have been praised and continuously deified by later generations.

He was bestowed with numerous titles, including "Apostle of the Saxons," "Emperor of the Romans," "Defender of Jerusalem," and "Father of Europe." Even the later Crusader Knights and the legends of the Holy Knights originated from the twelve Holy Knights under Charlemagne's command.

In France during that era, Charlemagne was a figure that many nobles, like Gilles, had to know. Even when Charles VII was crowned, he imitated Charlemagne's Reims coronation tradition and declared, "I am the successor of Charlemagne," to demonstrate the legitimacy of his royal power.

"...heretical and cultish grimoires, no, the contents of this are..."

While Jill lay on the ground in astonishment, Emperor Karl squinted at the book in the gritty human skin. Upon opening it, he could see that it contained a large amount of black magic... no, according to the knowledge of this era, it should be considered evil witchcraft, alchemy, and the like.

However, this thing is now considered Gilles's Noble Phantasm, "The Book of the Annihilation Castle," so it can be regarded as a source of evil magic.

Wait, that's strange. There's other unusual information here, probably added later.

When Emperor Karl touched on certain pages, several scenes of Gildre's communication with the Demon Pillar monster suddenly flashed through his mind, and the intermittent flow of information gradually returned in full.

With his keen perception, he quickly realized that Gil was a pawn chosen by the Demon Pillars to disrupt history in this era.

So that's how it is. It was specially entrusted with the Holy Grail—a creation with such astonishing magical power—to use it as an energy source to wreak havoc on this historical timeline?

Moreover, this Servant named Gilles clearly harbors strong emotions towards this homeland, and his malevolent desires will inevitably stir up a massive upheaval. Fortunately, the Holy Grail is now his...

No, as Emperor Karl held the Holy Grail, a sense of unease crept into his mind. This Gil was not particularly strong in terms of magical research, and his martial arts were also limited by his class, otherwise he would not have been so easily defeated. And yet, he himself had been summoned nearby.

...This Holy Grail was practically delivered directly into the hands of Emperor Karl.

The Magic King's unspoken message was simply that it didn't matter who received the Holy Grail, as long as it could wreak havoc on the world and disrupt the existing historical order. Since Gilles couldn't even keep the Holy Grail, he wasn't qualified to be a pawn in this singularity; replacing him with the more capable Emperor Karl would be more beneficial to the Magic King's plans.

"Hmph, the mastermind behind the chaos of the times."

Even with this in mind, Emperor Karl still accepted the Holy Grail without hesitation and turned to leave.

Even if he is being used, it doesn't matter. Now that he, Karl the Great, has successfully appeared in the world, he must accomplish something even more magnificent and far-reaching than what he did in his lifetime.

"..."

The tall, imposing figure gradually disappeared. Gilles, whose Holy Grail and Noble Phantasm had been taken away, had completely lost his source of magic power. As a Caster, he obviously did not have the skill of "acting alone" and could not continue to act without the supply of magic power. So he could only lie on the ground, slowly approaching a state of near death.

The smell of rust gradually spread from the cavity.

Jill's anguish was beyond measure; he now fully understood what true despair was.

First, offer wonderful hope, then snatch it away before it can be realized. For example, he had the opportunity to use the Holy Grail to change many things, but in an instant, that opportunity was ruthlessly taken away.

Da da da.

After an unknown amount of time, a girlish figure finally approached, murmuring in a soft voice:
"Oh dear! That's strange... Why do I sense something nearby that's similar to my 'teaching manual' but not quite?"

The man noticed Jill lying in a pool of blood and approached in surprise. "You are... Jill? You're my friend Jill, right? Wait, why do you look so different... and you're actually a ghost!?"

"Uh..." At this moment, even blinking was extremely difficult for Jill, and her vision was becoming blurry.

All that could be seen was a slender figure in a gothic dress, whose face and features were indistinct and whose voice did not sound familiar. However, the tone and manner of the voice sounded strangely familiar.

It looks like an old friend.

This world is so strange. First, I obtained the Holy Grail from the legendary Magic King, then it was taken away by the legendary Emperor Karl himself, and finally I encountered a woman whose tone suggested she was a friend...

Could this woman be the biological sister of his friend François Plelatti?
...Never mind, I'm already a dying Servant, no need to dwell on it so much. Once that ambitious Emperor Karl obtains the Holy Grail, he'll probably launch a campaign in this era immediately. I must remind my still-living friend, Prellati...

Before he breathed his last, Gilles's throat moved slightly. With the last ounce of strength in his Servant body, he squeezed out a few words from between his lips:
"Plerati...be careful of Charlemagne..."

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

The medical room was bustling with activity, but despite the large number of medical staff, it didn't feel chaotic. Ever since his "miracle" performance, Lu Mingfei had truly been placed at the top of the medical department.

After hearing about this, the Chaldea staff who had recovered would often ask Lu Mingfei to "help them not die," as if Lu Mingfei had become a walking healing buff, capable of curing all sorts of minor ailments like a magic plaster...

He could only say that the rumor spread like wildfire, becoming quite outrageous. In the end, most of them were turned away and given regular, symptom-based medical treatment.

Today, Lu Mingfei was still applying buffs to people, but this time he dared not be negligent. This was not only because it was personally requested by Emiya and Caesar, but also because the people he was treating were the seven members of Group A, including his acquaintances, Senior Brother Chu and Fingel. "Still not successful?" Caesar asked in a low voice.

Logically, during important surgeries, no one other than the surgical team should be present. However, Lu Mingfei's treatment method was highly unusual, and the other colleagues, besides keeping a close eye on the medical equipment, could only watch helplessly. Furthermore, Caesar and his group were high-ranking members of Chaldea, even more senior than the head of the medical department; once they were in, they were allowed to enter. Could they possibly disobey their superiors' orders?

"It looks like things are going to be tough. The first time we used our abilities, theoretically we already covered them. Including now, we've treated them four times already, with very little effect."

Emiya answered in a low voice.

The reason the medical department had previously frozen the baskets containing Group A was because the Hidden Ones were in an intermediate state during the spirit transfer process at the time of the explosion.

To put it another way, the intermediate state is like the human body inside the basket being decomposed into "superposition" spirit particles, which is like Schrödinger's cat that is neither alive nor dead.

Before it is opened, the human body is in a superposition of multiple states, such as being alive, dead, inside the basket, or at a special point, etc.

Normally, spirit particle transfer would transport the spirit particles converted from the human body to the target singularity's spacetime. Then, a group of staff in the observation room would observe that spacetime coordinates together to confirm the Master's arrival, which would also prove that there was no one left inside the basket. This is the interference effect of observation, collapsing the possibilities into a single one.

However, the explosion of the Demon God Pillar severed this crucial process, directly plunging the seven people who had been decomposed into spiritual particles into a near-death state.

Therefore, even if there were immortal spirits like Hinako Akuta in the original FGO story, they were still forced to crash and die by Lev seizing the opportunity to blow them up. The observer effect is just that unreasonable—once you open the box and let the world "know" you're dead, you're really dead.

Caesar, who also understood this principle, did not dare to gamble on the consequences of opening the basket. Therefore, as a precaution, he arranged for Lu Mingfei to treat the victims through the basket. Since the basket itself did not have any magical defense function, Lu Mingfei's ability could theoretically be effective against the Hidden Ones.

However, there's still no movement inside the basket. If the person inside is still alive, they shouldn't be unconscious... Could it be...?

The thought, once it surfaced, began to surge uncontrollably, and Caesar's expression gradually darkened. This was his previously prepared and formulated plan for the Hidden Ones, but now it had not only failed to serve its purpose but had also resulted in deaths—

“Calm down, Caesar,” Emiya shook his head. “Lu Mingfei’s abilities can heal external injuries, but he is powerless to treat mental and consciousness-related issues.”

Caesar was jolted, as if struck by a sudden enlightenment. "You mean—"

"Caesar, didn't you prepare a technique to secretly communicate with the Hidden Ones through a mental link? Let's see if it works. They might not be in trouble; they might just be unable to return to consciousness."

"Alright! I'll go try it now." Caesar's expression softened slightly, and he regained his composure. He instructed Lu Mingfei to stop the treatment and then had someone place the basket into the prepared alchemical array.

Emiya stopped monitoring Caesar's actions and left the medical department. After all, he had his own unique method to try to contact Slud, who was impersonating Ophelia, through a contract.

'Slud?'

Emiya called out to him many times in his mind before receiving a faint reply.

"...Lord Emiya!" Slud's voice seemed to come from tens of thousands of miles away, sounding ethereal and unreal, leaving one somewhat bewildered.

How are you feeling right now? Can you describe what you've been through?

'My lord, from the very beginning, I felt as if I were floating in a world where nothing existed. Within my senses, there was no time, no space, and the world had no meaning whatsoever…'

Emiya frowned. Unbound by time and space... Had he fallen into the imaginary space?

What happened next?

Slud continued, "...and then, in a world where there was nothing, I suddenly saw a beam of light, a somewhat hazy light, which illuminated me and revealed the figures of several other Hidden Ones."

"That light said that Chaldea couldn't save us; it was it that saved us from certain death. In return, we need to help it cultivate a creation called the Tree of Imagination. If we resist, we will be killed by the Great Command Seals inscribed on our bodies."

The Tree of Imagination? The Tree of Imagination?

Emiya knew that this thing was the key to the "Lossanid" world that was maintaining the various flawed developments in the second part of FGO.

This should have been a crisis that needed to be addressed after the burning of humanity, but clearly, the Imaginary Tree did not appear out of thin air. The alien god must have been secretly plotting it during the burning of humanity.

As for why these Lostbelts need to be dealt with, the reason is that the Lostbelts, thanks to the Imaginary Tree, have taken root on the Earth's surface. Each of these Lostbelts has defined its own territory, occupying the world that belongs to normal human civilization. If Chaldea wants to reclaim the future and protect human civilization, it has no choice but to eliminate the Lostbelts and cut down the Imaginary Tree.

Did that light mention anything besides cultivating the Imaginary Tree?

'No. '

'Okay, I understand. So, what's your current situation?'

"Lord Emiya, I feel like I'm surrounded by the environment and climate of Northern Europe. There are rolling mountains, covered in snow, and in the distance, a massive temple. How strange, I've never seen anything like this before. Is this... another world?"

"Something's not right. This shouldn't be the real world. Slud, you and the others received the task of cultivating the Imaginary Tree. They must have arrived in different environments as well. I think this is a virtual world, like a sandbox game."

'That light—the alien god's purpose—is likely to allow you to gradually develop here, waiting for the right time, at which point everything before you may transform into a real, otherworldly realm.'

According to the FGO storyline, the alien god's only goal should be to make the Imaginary Tree a reality; Lostbelts and such are irrelevant. And the so-called "opportunity" is probably after Goetia, the "obstacle," is defeated.

"Slud, listen carefully. This is a good opportunity. Chaldea now has a secret means of contacting you, which is not within the consideration of the Alien God. Otherwise, it would have cut off our communication and acted swiftly. So, for now, listen to its instructions and cultivate the Imaginary Tree according to its mission. But remember—treat the Imaginary Tree and the Lostbelt civilizations separately; their positions are not aligned!"

'You can play both sides, helping the Lostbelts simultaneously—I suspect that temple houses the so-called rulers of the Lostbelts—the Lostbelt Kings. Chaldea will support you from behind, allowing you to win over local powers, acquire their knowledge and resources, and even research that so-called Imaginary Tree…'

Emiya pondered, "A Lostbelt simulation sandbox?"
It seems pretty good; a good testing ground for technological development. If only I could get my hands on the knowledge and technology from those Lostbelts for free…

(End of this chapter)