32: The Sunken Spiral Castle

'White Whale.' He just said 'White Whale', didn't he?

"Are you freaking kidding me…?" I mumble, massaging my temples with a feeling of total exasperation. Dammit, didn't I already clear this boss!? Hey, Daphne, aren't you embarrassed, causing me this much trouble!? Hey, Gluttony Witch Factor, aren't you showing up a bit too much compared to the supposed big bad that is Envy!? Hey, mabeasts, are you guys seriously upset enough about Flauros's gang beating your collective kill record that you decided to come all the way to Earth and cause problems for me? Hey, White Whale, was getting crushed to death, decapitated, and blown up not enough for you!? You want some more, huh!?

"Ho…? The look on thy face, boy… Thou hast seen her, then?" The Captain says, grinning like his birthday came early.

"I sure hope not." I groan. "If it's the same flying, fog-spewing bastard that I had to deal with a couple years ago, I think I might cry..."

"Flying?" He gives a dry chuckle. "Nay, lad, Moby Dick is a beast of the sea, through and through."

"Um, Senpai, when you say two years ago…?" Mash says.

"Yeah, that was one of the enemies I had to deal with back home. Crap, I feel exhausted just thinking about that thing. I almost died so many times…!" I reply with a shudder. "Whatever this one's like, there's… woah, I almost raised a flag there, so I'm gonna stop!"

"Hmmm~? Are you the superstitious type, Subaru?" Asks Prelati with a dangerous-looking smile.

"Every time I tempt Fate, she rolls her sleeves up and punches my teeth out! So yes, I'm superstitious!" I yell. "Also, did I ever actually tell you my name…?"

"Mash told me while you were unconscious." He says, chuckling smugly to himself. "In any case, what you were going to say… was it, 'there's no possible way this Whale could be worse,' by any chance?"

...

"By the way, Medieval France didn't have laws about beating up kids, right?" I say to Mash as I roll up my sleeves.

"No, they- Senpai, wait!" She yells, hastily grabbing my shoulders and holding me back. "I understand how you feel, but please stop!"

"Wow! What a dangerous Master I've found~!" Prelati laughs.

"Come a little bit closer, you brat, and I'll show you just how dangerous I am!"

By the time Prelati and I finish playing around, the Captain has long since gotten sick of our antics and returned to the wheelhouse.

"Well, that's to be expected. [Avengers] can be pretty single-minded after all; if it's not about whales, it's basically impossible to get the Captain interested." Prelati says, sighing and shaking his head. He gives a small shrug. "I mean, don't get me wrong, he's pretty fun when sea monsters get involved, but otherwise it's like trying to herd a particularly grumpy cat."

"Ugh, he's an Avenger?" Mordred grumbles. "And here I had him pinned as a Rider… freakin' extra classes. Uh, no offense, Mash."

"Eh? Oh, no, it's fine…" She mutters.

"Another Extra Class, huh…?" I mutter. "What's the deal with that, huh? Aren't those supposed to be rare? And yet, we've met two of them, and we haven't met a Rider class Servant yet. I feel like someone's playing some kind of weird joke on me..."

Prelati giggles. "Don't worry! Illusions aside, I'm not really going out of my way to deceive you at the moment."

"Oi, the way you said that is totally suspect! Why the emphasis on me in particular!? What do you mean, 'at the moment'!?" I yell, shaking him by his shoulders.

"Ahahaha!~ Don't worry, don't worry!~" He laughs. "Cross my heart and hope to die, I'm definitely your ally! I am an ally of humanity, and an enemy of the Demon Gods, one hundred percent! After all, at the moment, the prime victim of my deceptions is… this guy!"

He reaches into his left sleeve, and with a squelching pop, he pulls out a squirming thing. It looks sort of like a worm, golden-yellow in color, with a gem-like translucent red octahedron set into its surface. Within, a black diamond flicks about - its pupil. It's an eye. The red thing attached to this worm is definitely an eye.

I've seen a similar being - but it was much larger, with round eyes and cross-shaped pupils. And yet, I'm certain that they are the same kind of being. I can feel it. This little worm, is without a doubt-!

"Ta-da! Meet my good friend, Demon God Baal! Go on, introduce yourselves! " Prelati exclaims. Mordred reaches for her weapon, and I back up, pulling at the magic in my mystic code. And then Prelati continues, voice lowered, as his smile takes on a sadistic quality. "Well, he won't be able to respond, though. After all… he's trapped in an illusion right now!~"

"Oh thank god…" I breathe a sigh of relief as weapons are lowered - and then I realize what this means. "...Wait, seriously!? You can do that?"

"Yes, seriously!" He chuckles. "The Demon Gods have no innate magic resistance. Of course, they have the authority to unravel any spell cast by human hands, but that would require him to realize he's under the effect of a spell in the first place, you know? And well… if you fail to remember anything else about the Demon God Pillars, at least remember this: they are incredibly prideful. In fact, they'd probably never even consider the possibility that a human could deceive them."

"...And yet, you say you don't have the grail." Mordred points out, eyes narrowed. "Does that mean Baal handed it off to a Servant, like Flauros did in Fuyuki?"

"Mm… Well, it's a bit more complicated than that." The Alchemist says, stroking his chin. "So, to start with, there's meant to be a Demon God overseeing each Singularity, but that doesn't mean that the Demon God has to get directly involved at any point. As long as the Grail isn't removed, the era will continue to be destabilized; fundamentally speaking, it doesn't matter who has the thing. But since you guys managed to knock out Flauros in Fuyuki, the King of the Demon Gods got a bit spooked, and started ordering his minions to keep a closer eye on their singularities."

He laughs. "Of course, that was about when he figured out that Amdusias had somehow completely lost control of his host. So Baal was dispatched in order to get Orleans back on course. Buuuuut…!"

"You intercepted him?" I ask, grinning.

"Hah! Even better! See, after I got executed, people made up a bunch of weird legends that I was an avatar of Beelzebub - a name derived from Baal. So Baal decided to jump into me since I should have been the most suitable host in Medieval France. Unfortunately for him…~"

"Those legends were made up, just like your crimes!" Mash says excitedly.

"Those legends were made up, just like my crimes!~" Prelati affirms with a giggle. "So I was able to shake his control long enough to stick him in an illusion."

I sigh with relief. "So we don't have to take on a Demon Pillar this singularity? That's a bit of a relief. Flauros didn't cause us that much trouble in the end, but I think a lot of that came down to him underestimating us. The others probably won't-"

"Nah, they'll probably continue to underestimate us all the way to the finish line! The King of Demon Gods pities Humanity, you see. He views the suffering of humans, their inevitable death, as something completely inexcusable. A flaw in the structure of the world. And so, he wants to painlessly incinerate every human. Because he pities us. It's one big mercy killing, as far as he's concerned." He says. "And so, he'll underestimate us. Because it's quite difficult to feel threatened by something you pity."

"...Is that how that works…?" Mash mutters.

"Yeah." Mordred replies, leaning against the rail and gazing at the waves. "Pity is the most dangerous emotion to have on the battlefield. After all…" She trails off. For a second I think about asking what she's talking about, but looking at her face-

"After all?~" Prelati says.

Mordred says nothing.

"After aaaaalll?~" The boy says, poking Mordred's cheek.

"...After all, pity is what killed King Arthur." She concludes, cringing.

"Oh! I see, I see!" Says the alchemist. He pats Mordred on the back, a big smile on his face, as her shoulders shake. "Well, it's like that, everyone!"

He gives a big thumbs up, and I feel a bit of worry building up in my chest.

"Just think of saving the world from the Demon Gods like you would think of murdering King Arthur!" He concludes, and I can see Mordred's jaw shift as she grinds her teeth. He doesn't notice. I'll need to scold him later.

My eyes widen as he opens his mouth again. He's not done. He's got one knife left to drive into Mordred's heart.

"Oh, but you guys already managed that once, so we're on a pretty good track, wouldn't-?"

"Prelati, stop helping." I hiss, grabbing him by the ear. He just grins in response.

"Understood! I will now cease helping!" He says - and suddenly, everything is still. The sound of crashing waves, the salty dampness of the sea breeze, disappears. And then, the world starts to grow darker. What-?

"S-senpai, look at the sky!" Mash yells, and I gaze up to see the thousands of stars painted across the sky rapidly wink out of existence, one after another.

"Oi, Prelati." I mutter, glaring at the Caster. "Quit that."

"Oh, this isn't me." He replies. "Seems like the 'whale' is coming for us! Man, what a coincidence!~"

The boat shudders, creaking, as the smooth obsidian sheet beneath us ripples. Once, twice, three times, the ship rocks.

"She comes! She comes! Ye guests of mine, behold! See, the whale comes!" Shouts the Captain as he races onto the deck as fast as his prosthetic will allow him to move. "Aye, I see thee, thou damned Whale! I'll not use half-measures, this time! Lower the sails! Full speed ahead! I'll dash my ship against thee, thou marble mountain! Aye, let my Pequod be run aground, against thy flesh! Look and see, all ye men and spirits of Earth! Behold, all ye demons of hell! Gaze upon me, oh God in heaven! Observe, the hate and spite boiling my very soul!"

As he speaks, the last of the stars disappears, and only the lanterns hanging on the ship's rail give us any light. And then, a white disk, with a black spot at its center, appears, shedding light on us once more. And another. And another, and another, until the sky is flooded with unblinking eyes.

"Aye, that's right." Avenger mutters. "Witness this, all ye onlookers - as Ahab hunts his whale!"

And finally, in a storm of oily black water and bubbling flesh, the 'whale' breaches the water's surface.

"▬██▁▆█▆▀▬██▆!"

The monster roars, its thousand mouths screeching with the voices of all the animal kingdom, plus a few extra sounds for good measure. Its eyes spasm every which way, with only a few actually locking onto the boat, as dozens of wings - bat, bird, and insect alike - flap uselessly in a vague attempt to get itself aloft. And at the center of its body, a strange green emblem glows ominously.

"That marking…" Mordred mutters in vague recognition, even as the sea monster's cry and visage send my brain twisting and churning with images of a Sunken Spiral Castle.

"Aye, I come for thee, whale!" Cries Ahab as the boat speeds forward, even as blood starts to ooze from his eyes.

"Hey, in what way is that damn thing a whale!?" I protest, looking away from it, and training my eyes on Prelati.

The Caster shrugs. "Well, it's got a few whale bits… Of course, I'm pretty sure that Ahab would identify any sea monster he saw as his so-called 'White Whale'. He's a bit…" He concludes, making a 'this guy's crazy' motion with his finger as I sigh.

I make the mistake of glancing back at the monster, and my brain trembles as searing pain digs into my eyes once more. Far away, I hear myself scream.

"S-senpai!? What happened? Ah, your eyes-!" Mash grabs me, and I blink a few times at her strangely blurry face. What's happening?

Oh. I can't see out of my left eye. Dimly, I reach up to touch it.

Crunch. There's a noise like someone biting into a carrot.

I scream as a sharp pain appears at the final joint of my left index finger. What happened? What just happened? I stare at the finger with my good eye - it's missing. My fingertip is gone, with tooth marks left where it had been. From my blind left eye, I hear a crunching, slurping, chewing noise.

What is this. What is this. What is this what is this what is this-!?

From far away, I hear screaming. Mash's [Lord Chaldeas] manifests, but the storm in my brain churns onwards. The stump of my fingertip bubbles, and spiders crawl out. My left eye continues to bore its way into my skull, chewing at the flesh around its socket.

To my side, I see Prelati fall to the ground, body twisting and bending unnaturally. Him too!? At the Prow, Ahab is still yelling something, even as his skin bubbles and sloughs off in sync with the monster's cries.

Mordred, seemingly unaffected, yells something as red lighting explodes from the [Azoth Longsword], a beam of light lancing out at the monster - but I can't afford to check how much it was damaged.

Think. I need to think! Why!? Why are Mash and Mordred not being affected by this!? What do they have that the rest of us don't!? How are they resisting-?

Wait. Is it seriously that simple!? Is it just their Magic Resistance skills!?

"T-then… let's try this!" I hiss, command spell flaring to life. "[EMT]!"

A ten meter spherical field, centered on me, erupts, and the squirming feeling slowly recedes from within my brain. My left eye smears back into focus, and my hearing returns to normal. Unfortunately, it also disrupts the illusion Prelati placed on me earlier, so my seasickness returns full force.

...The illusion is broken. Shit. Hastily, I grab Prelati, and throw him out of EMT's field of effect. "Prelati! By my command spell, trap Baal in an illusion again!"

He gives me a thumbs up, and gurgles a vague response through the rainbow colored sludge flowing out of his every orifice.

I glance at the monster, and my brain does not tremble in response. So that's nice. On the less nice side of things, the squirming beast seems to have been undamaged by Mordred's assault - and Ahab is looking considerably worse off. He clings to the prow, even as his body shudders, fire pouring out of the splintering cracks running across his skin.

"...to the last, I grapple with thee!" He roars, as we glide across the waves, closer and closer to the shapeless monster. "For hate's sake, I spit my last breath at thee!"

The boat shudders as we hit something, grinding and scraping against something beneath the ship's hull - but Ahab retains his grip on the flaming harpoon clasped in his right hand.

"[From Hell's Heart-!"

And then, without warning, the world shatters into pieces. The sky filled with eyes disappears, replaced by a clear blue sky. The tumultuous black ocean vanishes, replaced by rolling fields of green grass.

And the Alien Sea Monster disappears, replaced by a dragon of approximately the same size.

The Pequod tips to one side, grinding against the ground as it loses momentum, kicking up clods of dirt and grass. And finally, we all tumble out of the ship, with Mordred barely managing to catch me and prevent a rough landing.

"What the devil is this trickery!?" yells Ahab, who suddenly looks a lot less melted, as he lands ahead of us and glares at Prelati. "Alchemist, is this thy work, thou damned squid!?"

"Oof, seems you gave the planet an opening to figure things out, Subaru." Prelati says with a sigh as he lands next to me. "This is gonna get awkward…"

"▂▂▃▃▄▄▅▅-!" The dragon roars, the green emblem engraved upon its chest burning brightly. And from its jaws, fire without end pours forth.

"Once more, then! [Grand Illusion]!"

A/N:

This one went a bit long, huh? Also very confusing, but that's kind of intentional. Big explanation is next chapter.

Prelati doin' Prelati things. What a reliable and trustworthy ally with no sketchy qualities whatsoever.

Review Responses:

orion399 said:

So, Subaru actually met an outer god? I'm not too well versed on Cthulu mythos. So, I don't know for sure.

Fafsquid is not an outer god. Just a shoggoth-lookin thing.

I'm wondering if this singularity is a part of Solomon's plans or have they been derailed by the reality marble?

Things are sorta goin sideways right now for the Demon Gods.

SING MY ANGEL SING said:

Now with Orleans being eldritched right now, I feel like there is a high possibility of a Foreigner being summoned by Subaru. I know that Hokusai's Outer God is actually trapped in the Sunken Spiral City (I think?) but please, if Subaru will summon a Foreigner, let it be Abby. And hey, if you play the JP version of FGO, this'll be a catalyst for her upcoming Summer version.

Abby is staying out of it til Salem. She can bring him home because Silver Key shenanigans, so earth would kinda be toast if she got summoned.

Also, I thought that Moby Dick was Ahab's NP which he can summon? Or sincelike you saidyou're taking liberties, he's an Avenger and not a Berserker this time around, I'm guessing Moby Dick self-manifests instead of being summoned by Ahab? That'll be kinda cool like, if Avenger Ahab is ever summoned, Moby Dick will self-manifest for him to pour all his hatred on in a Grail War.

Ahab has not been summoned as a true servant in any official work; he shows up as one of Watcher's shadows in Strange Fake. Moby Dick is not one of his NPs, at least not as an Avenger.

Crown of Reaper said:

Ah, yeah, Kama. For some reason I forgot about her. She's great too. Also, London? Doesn't Dantes appear in Shinjuku?

Prison Tower event is post London, pre America.

So, the Singularities are now different. Now I'm just imagining how hard it will be to fight dragons(wyverns) while on a boat. Barusu doesn't have E rank Luck, he has the same as Dantes. Zero.

Luckily(?) the dragons are sea monsters inside [Grand Illusion]

Also, where is Cu? Didn't you say that he came back with them to Chaldea?

Cu's Spirit Origin got damaged, so he has to recover on the back lines for another month or so. See Chapter 25.

DemonRaily said:

Prelati and Ahab, truly a crew you can feel safe with and depend on. XD Then again simply because they are evil as fuck does not mean that they can't be useful.

If you wanna kill a sea monster, Ahab's your guy.

By the way, what's up with the archbishops of sin and aging? Do they not age at all or is it sun by sin basis?

Currently unclear. Regulus and Petelgeuse are at least 100 years old, but Regulus's body is frozen in time, and Geuse is a body-hopping spirit. However, Petelgeuse's body seems to have stayed the same since 100 years ago...

Oscar Ye said:

Protection from arrows doesn't actually create a barrier or anything you know? All it does is allow Cu to predict trajectories and avoid them.

It seemed like it made a barrier in the first Heaven's feel movie, or was that literally just the force of Cu stopping moving that blew Hassan's daggers away?

Guest said:

A question here. Satella summoned Subaru, somewhere not even zelretch can do to an another world. Subaru has kaleidoscope powers because of that. So is satella the strongest beast.

Re: Zero World isn't on the kaleidoscope, since it's independent of human history. Satella's powerlevel is matchup dependent, as with most things.