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

"Ahaha, sorry, sorry to keep you all waiting. It took me a while to wake up 'Former Master,' since everyone knows she's dangerous when she's asleep..."

Swish!

The wooden door opened, and the Flower Magician, dressed in a magnificent white robe, with a head of fluffy and messy long hair, and an inhumanly handsome face, but always exuding an air of frivolity and languor, walked in.

Good morning everyone, I'm your favorite Merlin!

I'm so sorry to have called you all from Chaldea this time, but please keep up the good work so that 'Master's Story' can continue.

Okay, everyone, let's do it together!

Let's happily destroy humanity today!

"..."

Merlin was in high spirits, but apart from Professor Moriarty clapping, everyone else stared at him coldly without saying a word.

"How indifferent everyone is... Well then, let's get straight to the point. This time, the target is... Hmm, is there a new Servant appearing this time?"

"Hello, I am Merlin, the Flower Magician. Where are you from, hero?" Merlin looked at Iori, his expression slightly puzzled.

Because he was quite unfamiliar with Iori, he couldn't recognize which Heroic Spirit from human history she was, which was rare for someone with [Clairvoyance EX].

"This... My name is Iori, as for where I'm from..." Iori hesitated for a moment, then decided not to make up a story, otherwise she would never be able to fool the shrewd Merlin.

"I am indeed a 'dead' and I have indeed performed meritorious deeds in slaying demons and monsters, but I appeared here inexplicably and I don't know whether I can be considered a follower or not."

"Oh, that happens occasionally," Merlin said casually. "After all, the Heroic Spirit Summoning System is a mountain of code, so it's normal for bugs to appear. We've seen all sorts of strange Servants."

Upon hearing this, the Servants in the room all nodded in agreement.

They not only witnessed it, but some of them were even victims themselves...

"But as long as you're here, you're one of our companions~"

Let's create singularities together in a fun way!

"Wait! Don't say things like that so casually!"

Iori finally couldn't hold back any longer: "Spirits... or rather Servants, shouldn't they be protecting the world?"

"You're a very upright hero, but you're wrong. We're the ones protecting the world."

At that moment, a mature and gentle voice rang out, and Merlin skillfully stepped aside, revealing a long-haired figure with a bewitching charm.

"Because the only way to save humanity is to 'destroy' it!"

She has long, ankle-length orange hair, wears a simple black and white school uniform, and looks very similar to Iori's memory of her, but is much more glamorous, having transformed from a girl into a mature woman.

Upon seeing her enter, the servants nodded in greeting, seemingly showing her great respect. Even though Iori was trying to control her facial expression, her pupils couldn't help but constrict.

——Fujimaru Ritsuka!

Or rather, the female protagonist Gudako in the game... but why did she turn out like this?

What timeline did he travel to?

"You seem to know me... but I can't remember who you are, I'm sorry."

Ritsuka tidied her long hair, knelt in front of the radiant warmer, and gestured for Iori to sit down as well, her gentle expression revealing a hint of apology.

"My memories are incomplete, and I've forgotten many of the bonds I had with the Heroic Spirits... But it's not too late to start now."

Hello, Iori-kun, I am Fujimaru Ritsuka, the last... no, the 'former Master' of humanity.

The knowledge imparted by the summoning system is limited, and your summoning method is abnormal; you must have many questions, right?

"……Yes."

Iori took a deep breath and cautiously surveyed everyone in the room: "Too many..."

"Let's start from the beginning."

Ritsuka didn't seem to mind, as if she was already used to this kind of thing.

"I once saved the world as the Master of Chaldea and became the 'savior of humanity'... Although it's embarrassing for me to say it, it's an undeniable fact."

However, even though I successfully defeated Goetia, the world did not continue as a result. A new crisis emerged, and my companions and I embarked on a journey to save the world once again. We experienced many sacrifices, witnessed countless tragedies, and ultimately achieved victory at a great cost.

I initially thought this was the final trial fate had bestowed upon humanity, but I was clearly wrong… Even after that, various crises will continue to arise, and to protect the continuation of humanity, we will rise up and fight time and time again…

It's like a Möbius strip, with no end in sight.

And in this process, many people we know... I'm sorry, I don't want to talk about that part.

“It’s alright, I understand how you feel.” Iori frowned slightly, his feelings quite complicated, after all, he was once a Master of Chaldea—albeit in a game.

"We overcame all the difficulties, and in fact, no more threats such as [beasts] or [alien gods] appeared later."

Unfortunately, even so, humanity inevitably declined, and the world faced an irreversible, true end…

Ritsuka clenched her fist: "And after that, I 'woke up' in another world!"

"Another world?!" Iori was startled by this unexpected turn of events. "What do you mean?"

“That was another Chaldea. I turned back into the way I was when I first arrived. Mash, the doctor, Da Vinci—my companions were all still alive. It was as if everything before was a dream… But I knew that it was definitely not an illusion, but something that actually happened.”

Fujimaru Ritsuka paused, organized her thoughts, and continued, "After that, I experienced another 'Humanity Burning,' and unsurprisingly, the subsequent 'Humanity Freeze'... It was like a replay of the previous world."

This time I was more skilled and had an intelligence advantage, so I changed many tragedies and allowed more of my comrades to survive—but the ending was still the same!

Even without the threat of enemies, humanity still weakened and ended, even earlier than the previous world!

I had made thorough preparations, but the result was even worse, which almost drove me to the brink of collapse... Then, I don't know how long I spent in a blank world, but anyway, I 'woke up' for the third time.

"Ugh!" Iori stared in shock at her orange-haired Master, a terrifying thought forming in her mind.

"How many times have you experienced this cycle of reincarnation?"

"After a hundred times, I stopped counting, or rather, I couldn't remember even if I wanted to."

Ritsuka smiled faintly, seemingly unconcerned, but Iori was already shocked by the number, and the other Servants in the room also had gloomy expressions.

The orange-haired Master continued as if nothing had happened: "Then I discovered a pattern:"

Human reasoning... stories always come to an end when there are no 'enemies' left.

"story?"

"Yes, it's easy to understand if you compare human nature to a comic or a game."

A comic book (human history) will only be serialized by the 'Cosmic Editorial Office' if it is full of possibilities and fun. Once it becomes old-fashioned and loses its possibilities, its popularity will decline, and in severe cases, it will be canceled halfway—this is the 'Lostbelt Cutting Phenomenon'.

Only comics that are consistently interesting and full of imaginative plots will be serialized and become the mainstay of the Cosmic Editorial Office; this is 'Pan-Human History'.

But this leads to a problem:

No story can last forever. Elementary school students will grow up, teenagers will become Pirate Kings, and no matter how exciting the plot is, it will eventually come to an end on a predetermined timeline as time goes by... that is, the 'grand finale'.

For the story itself, a 'happy ending' where all enemies are defeated is wonderful, but for the Cosmic Editorial Office, once the direction of the story is determined, it loses its interest and thus becomes worthless.

Then it will try to prolong it... for example, by 'freezing humanity' after 'burning humanity'.

However, this method cannot reverse the trend of the timeline converging, and the final outcome is still inevitable.

At this point, the Cosmic Editorial Office will ruthlessly classify it as a 'cut item,' which means it will be relegated from Pan-Human History to an abandoned Lostbelt, ultimately becoming a blank.

"So now you understand? That's why, no matter how many times I reincarnate, I can never change the tragedy of the world's end."

Ritsuka gave a helpless yet self-deprecating look: "Because this is fate!"

"...It's a really heavy story."

Iori let out a long sigh. Although he wasn't a witness, he still felt extremely frustrated.

"So, what are you doing now?"

"I haven't given up yet!"

Despite everything she's been through, Ritsuka's smile is still full of energy.

"I don't know when it started, but I gained the ability to observe other world lines and see another 'self'."

Then I realized that there are many parallel world lines in the pan-human history, and each world line has a Chaldea and a 'Fujimaru Ritsuka'.

They too will experience those things, but the choices they make at crucial moments will differ; some will succeed and some will fail, and the pan-human history they belong to will either continue or perish as a result.

I am an anomaly in this endless cycle of reincarnation; most 'Fujimaru Ritsuka' will not have a second chance.

So I had an idea:

Let me be their 'enemy'!

I will keep creating singularities and Lostbelts to keep their humanity in constant danger and ensure their stories continue!

This is the only way I can think of to save the world... I'm so sorry that even the Heroic Spirits support me in such a crazy thing..."

"..."

After a long silence, Iori suddenly looked directly at Ritsuka and asked a seemingly random question: "What exactly are you now?"

“I am Fujimaru Ritsuka, the former Master of Chaldea.”

With her orange hair, she revealed a mysterious and gentle smile: "Also an unofficial [Beast], the first and last human evil (love) —"

【The Beast of Continuation】.

"This is truly... an unexpected yet perfectly logical identity," Iori said with a sigh, a hint of regret in her eyes.

Then he saw a slender arm covered in Command Seals, as if enveloped in karmic fire, reach out.

"Are you willing to 'destroy humanity' with me, this evil human being? Iori-kun."

"I……"

Iori hesitated for a moment, then slowly raised her hand—

Author's Note (Dear readers, I'm begging for your first subscription! Please give me one!)

Hehe, what's meant to happen will happen eventually, this book will be available tomorrow!

To be honest, the chef was a bit caught off guard. However, it seemed that he shouldn't spoil the fun at this time, so the usual big update was still necessary.

After all, without the support of all my dear readers, how could this book have come this far? Just like without Sister Wu Xi's help, the author's writing wouldn't have gone so smoothly. You are all my benefactors!

Since that's the case, then the chef should naturally give back to all the readers!

Updates galore! Updates galore! Updates galore! Updates galore! In short, I'm going to grind like crazy! I'll grind as much as I can!

This is just a perk for readers when the book goes on sale tomorrow. After tomorrow, on Saturday, the author will check his subscription numbers. For every 500 subscriptions, he will add one chapter; for 1,000 subscriptions, he will add two chapters; for 2,000 subscriptions, he will add four chapters, and so on.

If the debt cannot be repaid in a short time, the chef will not renege on the debt and will continue to update the series until it is paid off. Long-time readers should know this.

The chef won't try anything funny, so please don't worry!

Anyway... hey everyone, just a quick question: could you please give me a first subscription? o(*≧▽≦)ツ

Chapter 51: Go and tell him I love you!

Iori agreed—but not entirely.

From a personal perspective, he wanted to stand on Ritsuka's side and lend a helping hand, and causing trouble everywhere would also generate more CGs, which was in line with his actual interests.

But aside from the occasional moment of impulsiveness in battle, Iori is always a man of careful planning before acting. Faced with the current situation, he must recall his original intentions:

I'm here for reconnaissance! I never intended to explore in depth this time!

Why is he being so careful?

He couldn't grasp the complexities of the Type-Moon universe!

The neighboring works, "Akatsuki no Akatsuki" and "Bleach," have very clear ceilings and plot directions. Facing those known villains, Iori is confident that he has some strength. But with Type-Moon, it's too easy for uncontrollable factors to appear!

With Iori's current strength, he would have to be cautious even in a regular Holy Grail War, let alone in the multiverse instance of this [Beast of Continuation] before him...

Unlike those Servants who can do sit-ups repeatedly, he didn't ascend to the Throne of Heroes; when he died, he was truly dead!

So Iori is very restrained in words, willing to cooperate with Gudako and provide her with the help she can, but she is a "phantom spirit" and has no official position on the Throne of Heroes, nor does she have the opportunity to start over, so she will not go to those outrageous timelines.