bookbashuk Page 72
Page 72
The timeline of FGO begins in 2015, when Olga Marie was already 23 years old.
It's 2012 now, so Olga Marie should be 20 years old by now. But she looks the same age as Mashu, who is 13. What happened here is worth investigating.
"Correction again, my name is not Green Hat Man." Rafe suppressed the murderous intent in his heart. Although he wished he could kill the person in front of him right now, he couldn't make a move until he understood the relationship between the two because the extremely threatening woman who had appeared earlier had left too deep an impression on him.
"Okay, I got it. You blind bastard, bring out the records from the summoning room and let me see them." Le Zhengling ignored the oppressive atmosphere emanating from Rafe and arrogantly gave the order.
At that moment, he himself did not realize that his tone was full of self-righteousness and unusual dominance.
Leif took a few deep breaths. "Before that, I want to make it clear that the record of that Heroic Spirit summoning just now does not exist! Do you understand? It doesn't exist!"
Le Zhengling frowned and looked at him with displeasure.
“Olga’s reckless actions will put Chaldea at a disadvantage. If the United Nations finds out that we summoned Heroic Spirits without submitting an application, they will have the opportunity to intervene here again! So nothing happened before! Those records no longer exist!”
Rafe stared at Le Zhengling with a stern look, his eyes open like those of a normal person.
Le Zhengling looked at him thoughtfully. The other party probably didn't want him to be unable to see Ji Ling's appearance, but rather knew that he had revealed his demonic form earlier. Those records might have observed this scene. Fortunately, no one had seen it before, and most people had fainted, but the machines were unaffected. That's why he found an excuse to block those information.
As he said this, Le Zhengling didn't actually want to be enemies with Rafe. He didn't have the time to expose Rafe's true colors. Whether the Human Reason Burning or something would happen, he wouldn't know until 2015.
After all, once he realized that the timeline he had traveled to was flawed, those supposedly fixed events could be subject to tremendous changes, not to mention that he had already told Da Vinci about it, and if he were to talk to the doctor about it later—
Thinking of this, Le Zhengling couldn't help but look at the helpless-looking person. In fact, he himself felt that his feelings about the doctor were very complicated.
Admittedly, the farewell at the Temple of Time in the Grand Order was indeed heartbreaking for him, but if we really traced the reasons for the burning of humanity, the former director was just an accomplice, and the doctor was the real culprit.
Solomon clearly possessed the ability to see the future, so why did he only foresee the "extinction of mankind" at that moment (the instant he became Roman)?
The reason might start with Mash's encounter with Professor Rafe—
Mash was originally a homunculus created by Chaldea to experiment with half-Heroic Spirits. Because the success rate of half-Heroic Spirits was extremely low, there were many other failed cases before Mash's success. She herself could only live to be 18 years old. At the beginning of the FGO story, she already had only one year left to live. Moreover, she had always stayed in Chaldea and had never been outside. She was only able to go outside because Roman came to Chaldea.
All the Demon Pillars were transformed from humans. In the final chapter, the Grand Temple of Time, Lef himself said that this was the Demon King's conspiracy. The Demon King had planted the seeds long ago, giving some people the bloodline to become Demon Pillars. These people were no different from ordinary people, but when the Demon King awakened, they would also awaken and become Demon Pillars possessed by King Solomon's 72 Demons. Therefore, Lef, as the Demon Pillar that appeared in the first chapter, was roughly the first Demon Pillar to awaken, and also roughly the fuse for the Demon King's destruction of the world.
The final chapter also reveals that Mozart also came from a family that could turn into Demon Pillars, but miraculously, he ultimately rejected the Demon's will and did not become a Demon Pillar. The reason, of course, is that after meeting Marie, he accepted the idea that "death is not meaningless." This idea that "death is not meaningless" fundamentally negated the idea of Demon Pillars, thus enabling him to resist becoming one.
Therefore, in conclusion, although those who become Demon Pillars are born with this fate, they may refuse to become Demon Pillars as long as they firmly accept death in their hearts.
Then there is the Demon King Goetia, who is the combined consciousness of the seventy-two Demon Pillars impersonating Solomon. They were originally created by King Solomon to "advance the truth" [system], and usually exist like Solomon's shadow. It is precisely because they were created for the purpose of "advance the truth" that they feel that "human death is meaningless".
They were enraged by King Solomon's indifference to the "death of mankind" despite his omnipotence, which led to their rampage and awakening, and their decision to replace Solomon and destroy mankind.
But this Demon King only seeks Mash's answer.
In the final chapter, after the Demon King's true form was revealed, He sympathized with Mash before the battle and questioned her, saying that Mash's life was very short and had already come to an end, so why did she still refuse to agree with His idea of creating a "deathless" world?
If Mashu were willing to acknowledge His thoughts, he could grant her immortality and eternal life. That means the Demon King not only knew Mashu and was aware of her origins, that she was a homunculus and would soon die, but he also believed that Mashu should be on his side.
So here's the question: how did Goetia, the embodiment of the Demon Pillars, know Mash and her background?
There is only one answer, because one of the seventy-two Demon Pillars was transformed from Lev Lenor, and only Lev would know Mash's origins and develop feelings for her during his interactions with her.
This does not refer to romantic love between men and women, but rather to feelings of sympathy and pity, which inadvertently awakened the personality of the Demon Pillar within Rafe.
The concept behind the Demon Pillars is: "Death is a human flaw, death is meaningless, therefore we should create a world without death."
Knowing Mash's past, Lef felt sympathy and fear for her impending death, which unconsciously led him to identify with the Demon Pillars' ideology. As a result, he could no longer resist becoming a Demon Pillar like Mozart did by accepting death with equanimity. His knowledge of Mash also influenced Goetia, the collective entity of the Demon Pillars, causing Goetia to recognize Mash and believe that Mash should agree with his ideas.
Then, let's return to the main topic, which is the key figure, Roman.
King Solomon possessed the highest level of clairvoyance, capable of seeing the past, present, and future. So why didn't he foresee the extinction of humanity before, but only saw it when he became Roman?
Based on the above reasoning, there is only one explanation—
In the instant Roman transformed into Solomon, he foresaw the demise of humanity through his futuristic vision. However, by then he had become an ordinary person and no longer possessed the power of King Solomon. He only knew that the beginning of all events was in Chaldea.
That's why he came to Chaldea and became a Chaldea employee. It was there that he met Mash and brought her to the outside world.
It was because Mashu came to the outside world that she met Lev, which led Lev to sympathize with her and ultimately accept the idea that death is meaningless. As a result, he could not resist the fate of becoming a Demon Pillar, which ultimately made Lev the fuse that led to the extinction of humanity.
This series of causes and effects can ultimately be traced back to the source: Solomon became Roman.
In other words, the moment Solomon wished to become human, he created the cause of humanity's destruction, which is why, with his futuristic vision, he could only see the consequence of humanity's extinction at that very moment.
If he hadn't decided to become human, Mash would have stayed in the Chaldea isolation chamber until her death, and she wouldn't have met Lev. Lev's Demon Pillar personality wouldn't have awakened, and he wouldn't have become the catalyst for Goetia's awakening and destruction of the world.
The reason Leif came to Chaldea was that, in order to end the Holy Grail War, he wished for a large sum of money, which gave him enough funds to build Chaldea.
Before this, even Animusphia, one of the twelve monarchs of the Clock Tower, had not been able to secure much financial assistance. By the time of the Holy Grail War, the six realization agencies that constituted Chaldea were less than half completed.
The six major projects are, in order:
Past observations – In 1950 AD, the phenomenon recording computer, the familiar Laplace, successfully conducted research.
Earth Simulation – In 1990 AD, the simulated Earth environment model Chaldea was completed.
Future Vision – In 1999 AD, the Near Future Observation Lens, Sheba, was completed.
The magician who created the third near-future observation lens, Sheba, was Professor Rafe, who was in his personality state of controlling the future at the time.
The next three projects—Heroic Spirit Summoning and Servant Fusion—were shelved due to a severe lack of funding.
This is why the first Director of Chaldea, one of the twelve Gates of the Clock Tower, and the Lord of the Celestial Sciences, was Marisbury Asmiret Animusfiah, the founder of Chaldea. He participated in the Holy Grail War, using the Ring of King Solomon found in the ruins to summon Solomon, winning the war. He then made a wish to become extremely wealthy, thus shortening Chaldea's construction time and making it appear as if Saber and her Master had won.
It was precisely because of his immense wealth that those three national-level budget projects were able to be officially launched, and it was also because of this that he was able to attract funding and technical assistance from the Magic Association, the Holy Church, and the United Nations.
Heroic Spirit Summoning – In 2004 AD, the Guardian Heroic Spirit Summoning System, Destiny, was completed. This allowed for the successful summoning of Leonardo da Vinci and Galahad in subsequent experiments.
Spiritual Calculation – 2015 AD, Spiritual Calculation Device Trismegistes completed.
Servant Fusion - In 2015 AD, the burning of humanity unfolds. Moved by what Mash saw before her death, he merges with her in order to keep her alive.
Thinking of this, Yue Zhengling's gaze involuntarily fell on Mashu again. Galahad was attached to her, and Fou came here because of him. No matter what, he believed that no Master would allow Mashu to suffer unnecessary harm.
But he also knew that the growing pains were necessary, and that the path to the burning of humanity did not have to be so arduous.
Seemingly sensing Yue Zhengling's gaze, Mashu lowered her head and shrank her shoulders somewhat uncomfortably.
Rafe also saw Yue Zhengling's eyes. In Yue Zhengling's gaze, he saw pity rather than sympathy, encouragement rather than coercion.
After seeing these things clearly, Rafe paused for a moment, then left with Olga Marie for the time being.
Chapter 164 Beneficial Teasing
"Do you think Rafe will hand over those images to you?" Da Vinci watched Rafe lead Olga Marie away, still finding it hard to believe that he was the culprit who caused the human burning.
Dr. Roman looked back and forth between Leonardo da Vinci and Le Zhengling with a puzzled expression. He couldn't understand why the two looked so familiar, as if they had known each other for a very long time. Could it be because both of them were Mona Lisa?
Feeling his furtive gaze, Yue Zhengling rubbed his temples uncomfortably. Looking at this doctor who wouldn't take his medication, wouldn't sleep a wink while watching the monitor, only played Facebook and was obsessed with fake online idols, often slacking off in empty rooms eating strawberry cake, and was completely blind, he felt a surge of impulse—
Let's tease his impulse a little.
"And who is this—?" Le Zhengling deliberately glanced at Dr. Roman before asking Leonardo da Vinci.
"Ah—right, I haven't introduced myself yet. My name is Romani Archaman, and I'm a doctor at Chaldea, the institution that ensures the continuation of human rights." Romani hurriedly introduced himself when he heard Le Zheng ask for his name.
"Oh, hello, doctor. My name is... um, my name is Ling. I'm from China. Doctor, what country are you from?" Le Zhengling took Fufu off his shoulder and looked at him with great interest.
"Hmm, what country am I from? I think it's Japan, I guess?" For some reason, Dr. Roman felt he couldn't tell the other person his country of origin. This intuition, like a revelation from the past, led him to lie.
However, this is not exactly a lie, because when he was reborn as a human, he was indeed in Japan, and as the victor, the former director wished for immense wealth.
His wish upon the Holy Grail was to "become human."
It is not about "gaining a physical body as a Heroic Spirit," but rather about abandoning all the power of a Heroic Spirit and becoming a new human being with absolutely no connection to King Solomon.
This led to Romani Archman
An ordinary young man born from the desire to be reborn as an insignificant "person".
"Oh, really? Japanese? But your accent sounds like an Israeli's. Do your parents have some deep connection with Israel?"
Of course, Yue Zhengling wouldn't let him off so easily. He was now acting solely for his own pleasure, so these seemingly far-fetched words didn't seem so out of place given his matter-of-fact demeanor.
What the hell is that Israeli accent?! Even I, the King of Israel, don't know what the Israeli accent is like! Dr. Roman, sweating profusely, forced a smile. At this moment, he had already placed Yue Zhengling in the top three of people he shouldn't associate with.
Da Vinci, standing behind Dr. Roman, was barely suppressing his laughter, his whole body trembling.
"Yes, yes, my father is an Israelite?" Being stared at by Yue Zhengling, he felt like a frog being stared at by a snake, completely at a disadvantage.
“Oh, I see. It seems you are a fan of your father, King Solomon. Your surname is written as Archaman. Archa is equivalent to the Latin word arka, which refers to both the Ark of the Covenant and Noah’s Ark. The suffix 'man' means the one who holds the Ark of the Covenant.”
Le Zhengling slowly stroked Fufu. Although he was lower than Dr. Roman, he gave off an air of looking down at him from a higher position.
"Male Hebrew names do not have surnames; instead, they are written as 'ben' (father's name), where 'ben' is equivalent to 'son of' (whose son). So, if your name Romani Archaman is read in this structure, with Archaman as the father's name, it becomes 'Romani, son of Archaman,' which can then be interpreted as 'Romani, son of the holder of the Ark of the Covenant.'"
Le Zhengling squinted and looked up and down at Dr. Roman, who was already drenched in sweat. The other man was pale and had white lips, looking extremely frightened.
"Ha, haha~ Maybe it's because my family name is a bit strange, so many people have this idea?" Dr. Roman didn't dare to look at Yue Zhengling anymore, and turned around to pull Mashu away. Mashu stood quietly beside them, listening to their conversation.
"The doctor's father is a fan of King Solomon?" Her innocent eyes made the doctor freeze as if he had been hit by a critical blow.
As Yue Zhengling looked at the doctor holding Mashu's hand, even though he was wearing white gloves to cover the ring on his hand, Yue Zhengling, who was not going to let her go, spoke again.
"By the way, is this your child, Doctor?" Yue Zhengling asked again with ill intent.
The doctor, who didn't know how much longer he could hold on, was so nervous that his voice changed. "No! Mashu is just a child who needs my care! But I treat her like my own daughter!"
"That won't do. Doctor, you're so young, and this child is so cute. I'm worried you won't be able to control yourself." Yue Zhengling stood up and walked to Mashu's side, letting her hold Fufu, taking this opportunity to separate the doctor and Mashu.
"Speaking of which, Doctor, you're married, aren't you?" He looked at the doctor's hand adorned with a ring.
"Not yet." When his gaze met his, Dr. Roman unconsciously covered his ring. Although he knew the other man hadn't seen it, he still felt as if the man knew he had a ring.
"If you don't have one, hurry up! Don't stay silent about virtual idols, because a lot of things online are fake. The person who's being cute with you all day might be a burly man, an old otaku, or even an unscrupulous magician who never showers and has dandruff everywhere."
Yue Zhengling's pointed words were clearly directed at him, and he seemed very familiar with everyone in Chaldea. Was his identity not a secret to this person?!
"But looking at your cowardly, incompetent, and irresponsible appearance, you must be the kind of person who is pressured by your parents to get married. You might even be the ultimate incompetent man who was tricked into marriage by your parents."
Le Zhengling turned to look at Da Vinci, who was slumped over the table, barely suppressing his laughter. "Da Vinci, you'd better watch out. A cowardly, incompetent pretty boy like the doctor is actually quite popular. You'd better act fast, or some dark-skinned guy might jump out and steal your man!"
"Hahaha! Hahaha! I, I can't take it anymore! I'm sorry Romani, let me look at your face and laugh for a while!" Leonardo da Vinci finally couldn't hold back anymore. She looked up at the doctor's face, which was completely distorted and sometimes bluish-red, and burst into laughter.
At this point, he still didn't understand that Yue Zhengling was making fun of him, and if he knew his true identity, he would really lose his mind!
"You, you! You really do know me!" Dr. Roman rushed up to Le Zhengling, reaching out to grab his shoulders, but miraculously his hands passed right through.
"Huh? This is—" He looked at his hand in surprise, then stared intently at Yue Zhengling, "An illusion? And a dream—"
Seeing the doctor's actions, a surge of inexplicable anger welled up inside him, instantly dispelling his drunken stupor. He then kicked the doctor in the shinbone, yelling, "How dare you! Who gave you permission to touch me!"
A scream rang out in Leonardo da Vinci's workshop. Dr. Roman clutched his right foot and hopped around on one leg.
Le Zhengling's kick was very skillful, as if it were an instinct honed through countless trials. It struck the most densely packed nerve area on the front of the human shinbone, and the pain at that moment was almost as painful as having your fingernail ripped off.
"Huh? How do I know this hurts about the same as peeling off fingernails?" Ignoring Dr. Roman who was jumping around, Le Zhengling turned to look at Da Vinci.
"I'll be back in a bit, Leonardo da Vinci, can you do me a favor?"
Seeing Roman screaming in agony, Leonardo da Vinci turned his attention back to Le Zhengling after hearing his voice.
She wiped away the tears of laughter from the corners of her eyes, and asked in a suppressed laugh, "Help you with what?"
"Yes, contact Lord El-Melloi II of the Clock Tower Modern Science Department, and also inform the Atlas Institute to ask if they are interested in retrieving a contract."
Upon hearing Le Zhengling's words, Leonardo da Vinci's eyes widened in surprise, while Dr. Roman stopped screaming and squatted down, looking at him with the same astonishment as Leonardo da Vinci.
"Well, I might not have the authority. You'll need to apply to the director first." Da Vinci looked at Yue Zhengling seriously for a moment. At this point, she was certain that Yue Zhengling was a heroic spirit from this era, or very close to this era.
“Then I’ll go find him myself. Besides, for the sake of the future, I should also talk to the StarCraft player, Rafe.” Le Zhengling took Mashu’s hand and walked towards the door without looking back.
As he passed the doctor, he stopped and said softly, "Everything will eventually pass."
This phrase is an inscription on King Solomon's ring, and Yue Zhengling's choice to say it to the doctor at this moment is also a way of making it clear that she knows his identity.
Sure enough, after hearing this, the doctor looked at him with an extremely complicated expression, "Who exactly are you?"
Le Zhengling tilted her head and revealed a sinister smile. Upon seeing this smile, the doctor couldn't help but shiver. Da Vinci, on the other hand, thought of the girl named Ji Ling he had met before. The girl gave him the same feeling as Le Zhengling now, full of eeriness.
"Me? I'm just a passerby, don't be too nervous, Israeli King of Fighters~" Yue Zhengling said in a tone that was hard to tell whether he was serious or joking.
After saying that, he pulled Mashu out of the workshop.
Looking at Yue Zhengling's retreating figure, Roman revealed a very complicated expression. At this moment, he felt a bit of hatred for his ordinary human form. If he were still Solomon, he would have known Yue Zhengling's true identity long ago by using the power of the Ten Commandments.
Remembering how this person had talked with Leonardo da Vinci for a long time in his workshop, and how da Vinci had solemnly sealed off the entire workshop, he couldn't help but turn around and look at da Vinci, who still had a smile on his face.
"Da Vinci, what's going on with that child?" Dr. Roman's frustrated tone made Da Vinci laugh even harder.
She didn't answer Roman's question, but instead looked him up and down as if she were seeing him for the first time. "The Israeli boxing champion?"
Roman's breath hitched, then his face flushed red. "I have no idea what the Israeli King of Fighters is!"
Pulling Mashu along, Yue Zhengling felt the soft, boneless little hand. It was hard to imagine that this hand was the one that supported the ultimate, unbreakable defensive barrier. For some reason, he felt extremely excited.