Don't use Type-Moon references in Oregairu!

Amidst the aurora, illusory creatures appeared one by one.

Some of them are species that have long been extinct: mosasaurs with sharp teeth roam the air, anomalocaris like an armored warrior walks around defiantly, saber-toothed tigers run above the aurora, Tyrannosaurus Rex roars with its head raised as if it were the ruler of the past, and the huge Titanoboa begins to stare at its prey.

Some are creatures that are obviously impossible to exist in reality. They may have a ferocious appearance, with all sorts of strange limbs all over their bodies, like a monster that has been randomly pieced together and stitched together; or they may be strange creatures that have come out of various myths and legends, and a glance at them will send chills down your spine, as if a blade is pointed at your brow.

Demons danced wildly in the sky, and life on the ground trembled. No one could understand what was happening. Even Fujimaru Ritsuka and his friends, far away in Chiba City, watched the bizarre and absurd scene with only a vague understanding.

But it was as if someone had pressed an invisible button, and in an instant, all the light on the entire Earth went out.

In less than a breath, the sun returned to the eastern hemisphere, and the moon returned to the western hemisphere, and day and night once again illuminated reality. But everyone understood that the past was gone.

At this moment, beams of light rose above a vast continent in the Pacific Ocean. Meanwhile, a massive and intricate magic array was rotating in the skies above the expansive North American continent.

The beam of light stretched on and on, as if heading towards the infinite distance; the magic circle slowly rotated, as if it were moved by any external object, just like the rotation of the sun and moon.

I'm [Chaldean profanity]! It's only been a few days since the phone call? What happened to the promised seven days? It's not even been three days!

Fujimaru Ritsuka lowered her head forcefully, her stiff neck joints making a cracking sound.

He quickly took out his phone, wanting to call Jia Kongming, but his fingers had already stopped.

A text message appeared on my phone; the content was very simple:

"This is the last message. It will soon be severely damaged, but it also has a chance to escape. I hope you have a way to get there. Goodbye, humanity."

Fujimaru Ritsuka put away her phone, her eyes devoid of any emotion: "What's with all this talk, like you're entrusting someone's fate to someone else? You don't need to tell me, I'll definitely protect this place. Goodbye, have a safe trip."

He immediately suppressed his slight melancholy and turned to look at Yukinoshita: "How is the situation?"

"Currently, the small team dispatched by Gayo has completed the mission we just urgently issued and is escorting them to Chiba. They are expected to arrive within an hour. The cooperation with the Kansai Spellcasting Association is also progressing well. More than 30 teams have been formed. Although only half of them are not members of the Kansai Spellcasting Association, the growth rate is extremely fast, and many ordinary people have participated in the Supernatural Adaptation."

Yang Nai picked up the tablet and quickly reported the data: "At present, with the further development of the situation just now, and the rumors we have spread in secret, we hope to achieve the goal of controlling more than a thousand extraordinary combatants within three days."

"The artificial spirit core has arrived at the Tsuchimikado family in Kyoto through a specially encrypted two-way teleportation channel and has been personally taken over by Mr. Tsuchimikado Yasumasa. The supplies are also being transported over, so there is no need to worry about the Kansai Jujutsu Association's top combat force."

"If I directly offer up artificial spirit origins to win over the top combat forces of other domestic powers, what do you think the success rate would be?" Fujimaru Ritsuka pondered for a while before making a decision.

Yukino Yukinoshita took a deep breath: "The risk is extremely high. The anomaly has appeared, but the specific threat has not yet been revealed to everyone. So you know, people always forget the lessons learned. The immediate benefits may lead to trouble."

"...Then, prepare a plan and a contract for me. Make sure I can contact them whenever I need to, and get Mr. Taejin to cooperate by showing it to them as an advertisement."

"Yes."

"In addition, we will continue to increase the adaptation frequency of extraordinary materials. The faster the better, and the more the better."

"No problem, it's a small matter."

"Also, find out everything that comes from the United States and China."

Yukinoshita nodded, then a moved expression appeared on her face. She quickly opened the message on the tablet and handed it to Fujimaru Ritsuka with trembling hands.

When he received the tablet, even though he was mentally prepared, he became expressionless.

The tablet sent me a video.

It looked like a city on the west coast of America, and everyone had just lowered their heads to discuss the strange phenomenon they had just witnessed. But as the magic circle lit up, the entire city transformed into hell.

The husband, who was speaking with concern, suddenly dropped his jaw to the ground, and his tongue mutated into a hollow straw, sucking out his wife's brain matter.

It was staring menacingly at its young child, only to find that the child's upper body had been completely split open, turning into a giant mouth that swallowed and chewed it up.

The couple, believing they had witnessed the apocalypse, were passionately kissing. But as the kiss deepened, the girl began to violently strike the boy, even slamming her knee into his groin, yet she couldn't stop the deathly kiss. In the end, the girl became a lifeless shell lying in the boy's arms.

Others, their skin and flesh peeled off, revealing their bright red bodies, roared as they lunged at innocent strangers around them.

A small number of astute individuals, trembling with fear, pushed their way through the ever-changing crowd and barely escaped the calamity. But most others, while running, simply collapsed to their knees, their muscles and bones seemingly melting and adhering to the ground, leaving only their clothes and skin as their final remains.

The entire city was filled with hellish screams, but Fujimaru Ritsuka seemed to hear a silent, sinister laugh coming from afar.

The camera pans up, and Fujimaru Ritsuka sees the magic circle enveloping the city, as if it's thirstily absorbing the faint, invisible crimson mist. The closer one gets to the magic circle, the more one can see the surging, solidified crimson river flowing continuously within it.

The video ends with a suppressed voice filled with anger: "I don't know if anyone will ever see this video taken by the drone. But as a superhuman, I've decided to strike. The mastermind behind the destruction of so many lives and the plundering of their flesh and souls must not be let go. May God bless me, may God bless this world."

Fujimaru Ritsuka took a deep breath, her scalp tingling.

Even the most terrifying and bizarre things pale in comparison to the wickedness of the human heart. He spoke in a hoarse voice, "How many people... have seen this video?"

“I got it from an informant at a fraction of the price. It seems all the supernatural forces know about it now. There’s also some bonus information.” Yukino Yukinoshita bit her lip. “Someone has confirmed that this magic circle covers almost all the most populous cities in North America. Currently, all the supernatural beings remaining in North America have launched an attack. But everyone reports that even supernatural beings feel their souls and blood being constantly torn apart. Therefore, the probability of success is practically zero.”

What can we do?

"There's nothing we can do, boss..." Yukino Yukinoshita whispered, but with unwavering determination. "Someone has already tested it. All methods of teleportation to the United States have been completely disrupted. Even radio wave transmission is blocked. According to the person who sent the video, when they gathered, they discovered that more than one person was trying to send a message to the outside world, but only one person with superhuman abilities—a technologically modified superhuman—successfully managed to do so."

They tacitly avoided mentioning the movements of the American army. The situation was clear: such a massive magical array couldn't have been created by just one or two people acting on impulse; it was the result of a coalition of privileged individuals mobilizing their power. They couldn't possibly have been unaware of how to resolve the problem here.

Fujimaru Ritsuka leaned back in her chair, utterly exhausted: "America is finished. Now I just hope their military is at least a little normal. I hope they don't get completely overwhelmed, and don't suddenly go crazy and start spreading mushrooms all over the world."

"I hope so..." Yukinoshita Haruno remained noncommittal.

A silence fell over the room, and even Hibiki Sakura, who had been completely oblivious to the situation, looked bewildered.

Even she is intelligent enough to understand the conversation between Fujimaru Ritsuka and Haruno.

"The world's strongest military power, the beacon of the international community, America—is it really going to collapse like this?"

"Although there are many flaws in what you said that are hard to criticize, I can tell you the answer: yes, that's right. America is finished." Fujimaru Ritsuka looked at the girl who had just gained the ability of Sei Shonagon yesterday, her expression solemn. "The world is now in a state of great turmoil. So, Sakura Hibiki, would you like to join Chaldea? It offers five benefits and one housing fund, generous salary, and a safe base dormitory for employees' families."

"Don't try to entice me to join the company in such a strange tone at this time! If I join, will I have to fight monsters all over the place?"

"Yes, to protect ourselves and the society around us, we have no other choice, so don't harm... wait, what are you laughing at?"

"I want to join!" Hibiki Sakura clenched her fists fiercely, filled with resentment. "I almost got eaten by a monster that was posing as a handsome young man and seducing me while trying to save my neighbor's child. Now, I'm going to show you what I'm made of with modern exorcism weapons!"

"Hmm...that sounds reasonable. Well then, Haruno, take her to sign the contract and arrange for Hibiki Sakura's family and friends to stay nearby. By the way, are there any places to stay available lately?"

"Well, luckily I thought of that earlier. When Hitagi Senjougahara was working on the project, I asked them to build a few dormitory buildings nearby. No need to worry."

"That's good. You can start arranging accommodation, training, and attendance for Sakura Hibiki. I need to talk to Lisa and the others about this video."

"Go on!" Yang Nai smiled, turned around, and pulled Sakura Hibiki upstairs.

Fujimaru Ritsuka left the restaurant, but Yukino, Yui, Abi, Utaha, and Abi remained. They exchanged knowing glances, then without saying anything, headed straight for the training grounds.

In this situation, only by becoming stronger can one have the opportunity to seize their own future.

Then, the training ground began to shake continuously.

As Fujimaru Ritsuka walked toward the laboratory, she felt a slight vibration and nodded with satisfaction.

Yes, only by becoming stronger can we survive and then catch that troublemaker and slap her in the face.

The laboratory door seemed to detect his arrival and opened automatically.

"Hey, isn't this Mr. Fujimaru, who never visits without a reason? What kind of troublesome task are you going to give us today?"

Lisa rubbed her messy hair and asked irritably.

Fujimaru Ritsuka silently handed her the tablet, gesturing for her to turn on the video.

Exhausted, Kaiki and Rohan seemed to sense something big was happening and decided to slack off, sidling up next to Lisa. The three of them silently watched the video, then looked up in unison: "America?"

"Yes, America."

Lisa pulled out a cigarette, then angrily crushed it and tossed it aside: "You piece of shit! A paramecium that gives birth without dermatitis! A dung beetle that eats shit! You'll do anything! You've eaten blood and soul, haven't you? Beki Mudshou, you tell me!"

With dark circles under his eyes, Bei Muni Shu's voice remained flat as always, yet everyone could hear the anger in it: "The alchemical methods of the Atlas Institute, who knows which piece of shit dug up the remnants of a world-destroying weapon. Just like those despicable bastards who, in order to save humanity, are willing to destroy it!"

"This is, Truth Inquiry: Land Forging."

204. The World-Destroying Weapon of the Atlas Institute?

The Atlas Institute, one of the three major departments of the Magic Association located in the Atlas Mountains of Egypt, is actually an independent leadership group along with the Clock Tower and the Wandering Sea. Its exterior is heavily fortified with closed structures, suggesting a greater fear of its members leaving than of intrusion.

The Atlas Institute specializes in alchemy, and the split-thinking technique that Yono learned originated from this organization. According to Deishuu Kaiki, although he inherited the power of Hohenheim, one of the founders of the modern magic system in the Type-Moon world, the alchemy researched in modern times is vastly different from the alchemy of the Atlas Institute.

Modern alchemy studies the transformation of matter, in other words, turning copper into something like gold. The alchemy of the Atlas Institute, however, is far more metaphysical, studying the transformation of phenomena, capable of achieving conceptual transformations that border on the level of authority. Things like recreating the world, or poisons that transform lifespan or time into concepts, sound utterly absurd.

This outrageous organization, whose members mostly take saving the world as their mission, observes and measures global crises to find ways to resolve and avoid the future extinction of human civilization—and then they invent seven weapons, any one of which is enough to destroy the world.

...Although to be honest, Fujimaru Ritsuka also doesn't quite understand why the Seven Warlords of the World were created in the end in order to save the world.

"...In general, although Mr. Hohenheim has figured out how to create the Philosopher's Stone, subtly building a common bridge between modern alchemy and Atlas alchemy, he still only has a superficial understanding of their technological achievements."

Bei Mudshou stroked his chin, which had grown wildly due to neglect in a long time, looked at it from left to right, and finally came to a conclusion: "That's right. It is indeed formed from the land."

"Hohenheim was, in a sense, a genius worthy of entering the Atlas Institute. His research on the Philosopher's Stone was itself one of the Atlas Institute's top secrets. Whether it was storing information or creating a spirit computer based on the Philosopher's Stone, these were technologies possessed by the Atlas Institute and him. Therefore, he once used some rather indescribable methods to spy on the Atlas Institute's achievements..."

At this point, Kaiki Deishuu paused slightly, but Fujimaru Ritsuka and the others nodded in agreement.

I get it, I get it. Magicians are... how should I put it? Extremely selfish and antisocial? The founding fathers were only slightly better.

Beki Deishu was speechless at the "I understand" looks on everyone's faces, so he had no choice but to continue: "【Truth Inquiry - Territory Creation】was one of the materials he had glimpsed. It involved manipulating spiritual veins, setting up arrays on a national scale, and dancing to the spellcaster's will, transforming the world and its creatures into something worthy of his own design. It's said that the creator intended to transform humanity into ultimate beings capable of space travel when the future world was on the verge of destruction, allowing them to escape the shattered Earth. Then, it's said that he went mad, directly breaking through Atlas's external defenses and flying to North America to set up the array, but..."

"What was the result?" Fujimaru Ritsuka faithfully played the role of the straight man.

"He was overwhelmed by a white-haired, dark-skinned man's countless Noble Phantasms exploding. He died a particularly gruesome death." Beki Deishuu shrugged. "If he hadn't kept a backup at the Atlas Institute—though it was incomplete—Hohenheim might never have known about it. But because it was damaged, the secrecy wasn't particularly high. Otherwise, I suspect this thing might even be a secret world-destroying weapon."

Poor Emiya, he was transported to the past to work. Alaya is no human being!

"Getting back to the point, the use of cuneiform script on this magic circle, as well as the framework of the magic circle itself, are basically similar to what I saw in Hohenheim. But there are also quite a few changes, both in scale and purpose... Let me take a closer look." Bei Mu Nishu zoomed in on the video, trying hard to make out the contents.

“Immortality…blood…in the name of the moon…True Ancestor…” After struggling to decipher it for a long time, Kaiki Deishuu finally raised his head with a strange expression. “We guessed right. It’s almost at the cost of ordinary people covered by the magic circle, absorbing their flesh and souls to transform specific individuals into Dead Apostles. And it’s quite close to the level of a True Ancestor. Although it’s not quite at the level of a half-Dead Apostle and half-True Ancestor like Kurohime, it has removed fatal weaknesses such as being killed by sunlight, and even retained its contagiousness, increasing its control over lower-level Dead Apostles.”

"...Are these bastards serious? Wasting almost half the population of America just to establish a nation of the Dead Apostles? If only Alaya existed in this world. Is our analysis even useful now?"

"Completely useless. The [Truth Inquiry - Territory Forging] was designed from the outset without any nodes. Once formed, it's practically connected to the underground spiritual veins, making it impossible to shake. That's why the magician was completely blasted apart while he was still on the ship." Bei Mudsho shook his head and sighed.

The tablet suddenly vibrated, and Yang Nai's video popped up. She hurriedly said to everyone in the lab, "Quickly use your tablets to go online and watch YouTube's live stream."

Unaware of the reason, Fujimaru Ritsuka still opened the YouTube app on the tablet.

The homepage has clearly been hacked, and everyone can now see a live stream titled "Plant some big mushrooms for these shitty ducks".

"Could it be?"

Terrified, Fujimaru Ritsuka immediately opened her live stream. High atop a stone torch, a man sat swaying in the air, humming a song in a hoarse voice: "Country Road, take me home, to the place I belong."

All viewers who flooded into the live stream were muted, as if they were listening to someone's funeral music in a mourning hall.

"Phew, time to plant mushrooms." He leaned heavily against the wall, overlooking the land from the Statue of Liberty, the iconic symbol of America. "Ah, I really miss my hometown, but sadly I can't go back. Ladies and gentlemen, perhaps this is the last wave of nuclear weapons before the arrival of a new era. Hopefully, it will still be somewhat effective. Oh, by the way, I managed to get a friend to use a curse to disable the nuclear defense mechanism, so don't worry~~ I hope you can still have sweet dreams."

What followed was a horrifying flash of light and a tremendous explosion that terrified all the viewers in the live stream.

Then, the live stream was completely shut down.

Yang Nai called again: "This is the person we mentioned before who possesses extraordinary abilities related to mechanical creations. Now, based on monitoring and prediction, no other country, including the United States, has launched a nuclear missile from its nuclear submarines."