You are very strong, but my painting style is better than yours!

Ritsuka took a deep breath, deeply engraving this precious, ordinary moment in her heart.

"Finally, I'm back!"

—There's just one small problem.

I feel like I've forgotten something... Even though things have ended perfectly, Chaldea has returned to normal, and the Beast of the End won't reappear for a while, we can still use other means to support parallel worlds, even though we can't cause trouble in different timelines like before.

But why do I still feel uneasy...?

What exactly have I forgotten?

"what!"

"What's wrong, senior?"

"Ritsuka, no, I... cloned myself!"

Ritsuka's expression was one of utter shock: "I forgot, my clone was also working with Merlin Lily to conquer the singularities in the abandoned Chaldea!"

"……what?!"

"Something terrible has happened! Quick, quick... go and fetch Leonardo da Vinci!"

Chapter 568 We won't turn off the dragon lantern!

"You actually forgot about both my clone and your clone? You're really carefree!"

"Well……"

Ritsuka sat listlessly on the bench: "It's just that I was a little too excited about returning to my old life... so I forgot about the old Chaldea."

In short, it's best if nothing goes wrong.

"So, how did you handle that?"

"It was split off and formed an independent timeline. We went to great lengths to disguise it as a singularity, and the clone didn't notice anything amiss... In reality, she was already me from another world."

She's currently diligently exploring singularities within her Chaldea~

"Well, that's fine too."

Iori nodded and sat down on the other side of the bench: "So, are you satisfied with your life now?"

"Although I still have to get up early every day, it's much easier than before."

Ritsuka chuckled foolishly, clearly very happy.

"However, speaking of which, the [Beast of the End] is bound to return, isn't it? Iori, you didn't manage to defeat it completely, did you?"

"Theoretically impossible... The only way is to postpone her return indefinitely."

Seeing the worry on Ritsuka's face, Iori smiled slightly: "Don't worry, I've come up with a solution these past few days and have done simulations. It should be able to solve the Chaldea problem."

"Really?!"

Ritsuka suddenly looked up at him, her eyes filled with a mixture of surprise and delight. "Amazing! I knew it was you, Iori... Um, what should we do?"

"The appearance of the [Beast of the End] is essentially a sign that the universe no longer wants to allocate energy to humanity. The most important reason is the 'Servant Universe'. Humanity will achieve unprecedented prosperity in the future and then cover the entire universe with its own mythology. The so-called Servant Universe is a collective ascension."

At that time, although humans may exist forever, other races will be deprived of all living space, and the 'possibilities' of the universe will also decrease drastically.

—And to change this future, you need to steer the world line in another direction.

“Another direction…”

Ritsuka pondered, "I used to try my best to keep the world line on the 'correct' path. Now it seems that it might be because of this 'correctness' that the universe has become hostile to us."

But if we do as you say, wouldn't that mean creating a Lostbelt?

"It's not something petty."

Iori held up a finger: "A single change in a worldline is meaningless, but if they add up, they can be enough to reverse the entire history of humankind, or rather, redefine it—Chaldea is the key to that."

"You mean, using Chaldea as a 'focus' to connect all parallel worlds?"

Ritsuka suddenly realized: "That friend system, you commissioned Da Vinci to make it?"

"Pretty much, but that's not enough. We need to introduce new variables to completely change it."

"variable?"

Ritsuka pondered seriously: "But the problem is that Chaldea has already encountered beasts, alien gods, Servant universes... and even stranger things. It's hard to imagine what other factors could be called 'variables'."

"That's what you don't understand~"

Iori narrowed his eyes, and for some reason, the smile on his face made Ritsuka's heart tighten—what a malicious expression!

"This variable is naturally not within this universe, but rather it is to introduce the existence of another universe."

"Another universe...your home?"

"Not only that, but many other worlds can also be connected to Chaldea. Using Chaldea as a hub to connect parallel world Chaldea with other worlds will naturally create infinite possibilities. As long as the deviation value of human reason accumulates to a certain point, it can be completely reversed!"

"Is it really possible?"

"Of course~"

Iori smiled slightly: "Think about it, when the commercial value of an IP has been exhausted and it is difficult to continue operating, what should be done to turn the tide?"

"This……"

"Of course it's a crossover collaboration, releasing characters, and making easy money!"

"This, this is not good."

Ritsuka suddenly felt a pang of guilt. "I don't really understand, but I just feel like this is a bit..."

"It's okay, everyone does it this way."

Iori put her arm around Ritsuka's shoulder and whispered in her ear, "If there's a collaboration, Chaldea will have new Servants to pull for~"

"!"

"This……"

"Of course, some of our Heroic Spirits will inevitably end up in another world, but that's alright. To show our sincerity, we can simply exchange our strongest Grand Heroic Spirit—Smoke Mirror—for it."

Iori gave a thumbs up: "Leave everything to me, don't worry!"

"So... which specific worlds should we collaborate with?"

"First, there's my hometown, and then there are the several other worlds I own... all of which are safe."

Iori's tone was like the devil tempting Faust: "All you need to do is get Chaldea to cooperate with me~"

"Oh... since you said it... it should be fine, right?"

For some reason, Ritsuka felt a little uneasy.

"Would I lie to you?"

"Yes, Iori isn't a bad person, she's my good friend!"

"Hmm~"

Iori smiled slightly to reassure her, but in her mind she was calculating her next move.

First is "No Game No Life," for which he possesses the Star Grail, granting him absolute control over it;

Secondly, there's "Bleach," whose new Soul King's control over the three realms is equally impeccable;

Then there's "Campione!", where the final boss has already been defeated by Iori, so he's basically no threat anymore;

Next in line are worlds like "Akatsuki no Akame" and "Kagemusha," where, although they don't hold the highest authority, they possess a vast power capable of controlling the entire world...

"Uncle from Another World" is out of the question. While it appears to be just ordinary sword and magic, it actually involves a higher-dimensional divine realm. Iori doesn't currently have any intention of stealing food from someone else's pot. A passage can be left open, but it's not suitable for unlimited access.

"Heroic Age" is a bit troublesome. It's basically the Golden Clan's private territory, so it's best to leave only one interface channel there as well.

I can't wait!

The day will come when we connect these other worlds through Chaldea and expand our influence to the entire realm.

However, before that, the most urgent task is to turn Chaldea into a "crossroads to another world." Although it already has the attribute of connecting various parallel worlds, it still needs to undergo some in-depth transformation.

We need a reference point...

A thought flashed through Iori's mind and she held onto it firmly:

Alright, let's go visit Miss Altair, the military princess!

……

Altair, who was adventuring in the world of a certain work, suddenly sneezed.

"Are you OK?"

"It's alright, Setsuna."

Altair gave his female companion a look, then looked at a giant dragon sleeping in a crystal and took out a short dagger.

"We won't turn off the dragon lantern!"

Chapter 569 I'm an artist.jpg

Under the azure sky, Altair and Setsuna Shimazaki stood at the entrance of a village in the world of Monster Hunter W. The villagers looked on in fear, casting pleading glances at them.

"Please, you two hunters!"

The village chief, leaning on his cane, said in a trembling voice, "If that calamity dragon awakens... the dragons alone have already destroyed our farmland. If this continues, the village won't be able to hold on..."

"Leave it to us!"

Altair nodded slightly, his long silver hair fluttering in the wind, and turned to his female companion, saying, "Setsuna, it seems this mission won't be easy."

Setsuna Shimazaki gripped his crossbow tightly, his eyes gleaming with determination and anticipation: "It's alright, Altair. If we work together, we can definitely take it down!"

Following the villagers' directions, the two arrived at a cave covered in purple crystal.

Deep within the cave, a colossal black dragon was sealed within crystal. Its scales were as black as night, but its eyes glowed with a scarlet light, as if it might awaken at any moment.

After the villagers left, Altair was about to step forward when she sneezed. She couldn't help but worry about her condition, but Miss Junji indicated that she didn't need to worry.

"Have you forgotten who I am, Setsuna?"

"...That's true!"

She smiled for a moment, her face flushing slightly for some reason.

"This is the Dragon of Calamity..."

Altair walked forward, looked up at the final boss of this game world, and said in a low voice.

With her fingers gently tracing the surface of the crystal, Altair sheathed her dagger and instead drew the greatsword from her back—she had never quite understood why a short dagger would be considered a "primary weapon" in a world where even the smallest monsters were elephant-sized.

Of course, if it's only used for cooking, then it's understandable.

The sword flashed coldly in the dim cave: "Step back a little."

She took a deep breath and swung her sword at the crystal. With a crisp cracking sound, the crystal shattered, and the black dragon's roar instantly echoed throughout the cave!

Countless fragments came flying at Altair, who ducked to dodge, but was still cut and bled.

"Roar!!!"

The black dragon broke free of its restraints, its enormous wings whipping up a gale that shook the entire cave.

"It's noisy!"

Altair charged forward without hesitation, his greatsword clashing with the dragon's claw, sparks flying everywhere.

"Althael, watch out for its breath!"

In an instant, he shouted a warning and drew his bow, firing arrows precisely at the black dragon's eyes in an attempt to disrupt its vision.

Miss Military Princess did not fly, but strictly adhered to the rules of this game world, only possessing extraordinary physical abilities. She moved with lightning speed, using the protrusions of the cave wall to leap up and slash at the black dragon's back with her sword.

Clang!

However, the dragon scales were incredibly hard, and the sword only managed to leave a shallow mark.

"Tsk, really hard."

She clicked her tongue and quickly retreated, dodging the black dragon's tail whip attack.