151: Chapter 151 The Malignant Isolation Magical Realm - Shinjuku
A week has passed since the sensational one-year anniversary virtual preview livestream that took the internet by storm.
Over the past few days, major gaming forums and ACG communities on Blue Star have been flooded daily with news about those six mysterious Heroic Spirit silhouettes.
Lore enthusiasts have scoured mythological history books from all over the world, trying to piece together the true identities of those upcoming new characters from mere fragments of information.
Just as players' expectations reached a fever pitch, the FGO servers finally welcomed the first major update of the Part 1.5 Epic of Remnant project.
8 PM, Shark Streaming Platform.
PD lay down in the VR pod on time, adjusting the parameters of the sensory equipment.
“Brothers, do you know how I survived this dead period between main story updates?”
As PD pressed the connection button, he complained into the microphone, “Ever since finishing the Temple of Time, I've felt like something was missing. Even though Old Thief Gu released the The Count of Monte Cristo Roguelike and Holy Grail War later, and they were fun, it's just not the same!”
“In Roguelike mode, you start with your Servants confiscated, having to look at the dealer's face every day; don't even get me started on the Holy Grail War, it's all freaking psychological warfare where people hide in trash cans to land sneak attacks!”
“I've whaled so much money to raise these NP5 Level 100 Servants, but in those modes, there's no chance for a head-on clash! Usually, they're just foremen sweeping the streets in farming quests. This life is unbearable!”
“Now that the new main story is finally open, I've got to go on a killing spree today and vent all the frustration I've been holding back!”
With that, amidst a screen full of bullet comments like 'President P is frustrated' and 'Go go go', he impatiently put on the headset.
Accompanied by a familiar feeling of weightlessness, his vision lit up.
However, PD didn't appear directly in the Rayshift preparation room as usual; instead, he was teleported by the system to the Central Control Room.
The lights in the entire control room took on an oppressive dark red hue.
In front of the main screen, Da Vinci turned around, and beside her, in the seat belonging to the head of the medical department—where a cup of coffee and half a strawberry cake used to sit...
Now sat a pink-haired girl wearing black-rimmed glasses and a Chaldea uniform.
Mash Kyrielight.
“Senpai, can you hear me? The communication test is normal.”
Mash looked at the holographic screen before her, her slender fingers skillfully operating the console.
She looked up, a gentle smile in her clear eyes, but if one looked closely, deep exhaustion could be seen hidden between her brows.
“I'm sorry, Senpai. After the final battle at the Temple of Time, abnormalities appeared in my body, and Sir Galahad's spirit origin has entered a dormant state. For this Sub-Singularity, I can no longer accompany you to the front lines as a Servant.”
Mash took a deep breath, her small hand gently stroking the armrest of the chair, “But I will stay here. As your exclusive control room operator, I will provide you with rear support...”
“Just like before... no, it's nothing.”
This nonchalant sentence was like a poisoned steel needle, piercing deep into the hearts of all players experiencing this story.
In PD's stream, the bullet comments that were just spamming 'Go go go' were instantly replaced by a wave of wailing.
“F*ck! Old Thief Gu, be a human! You're stabbing us right at the start!”
“Seeing Kouhai sitting in the Doctor's seat, my tears just started falling.”
“Things stay the same but people change... that man who loved eating cake really isn't coming back.”
“Waaaah, without Kouhai's big shield, how am I supposed to survive on the front lines!”
Just as players were feeling sentimental from this sudden trip down memory lane, Da Vinci tapped the screen and projected a holographic map in front of PD, interrupting the somber atmosphere.
“Although we successfully defeated Goetia and stopped the Incineration of Humanity, the aftermath of that battle hasn't completely settled. We've observed a strong spiritron abnormality at the time-space coordinates for 1999.”
Da Vinci kept zooming in on the holographic map, finally settling on the silhouette of a familiar island nation.
“We are defining this mission as—Epic of Remnant (Sub-Singularity)!”
“Additionally, the stage this time is a bit special. It's a city completely sealed off by invisible high walls; those inside can't leave, and those outside can't enter.”
“In this quarantined demonic realm, the laws of justice and order are completely twisted. Conventional Heroic Spirits will face strong rejection there, unable to even exert a tenth of their strength.”
As this line fell, the system's combat UI expanded at the edge of PD's vision, and a system prompt box burning with black flames slapped right onto the center of the screen:
[Special Rule: All Servants with the 'Evil' alignment will have their Bond Point gain doubled and their Attack increased by 50% within this Sub-Singularity!]
The moment he saw this prompt, PD was stunned for a second, then burst out laughing.
“Hahaha, Old Thief Gu finally did something decent! I'm tired of using those 'Heroes of Justice' all the time. Today, in this lawless land, I can finally bring out my entire villain squad!”
Under the gaze of tens of thousands of eyes in the livestream, PD opened the Servant party formation interface.
He first placed his absolute mainstays and favorites, [Jeanne d'Arc Alter] and [Artoria (Alter)], whose DPS is quite good among four-stars, into the starting lineup without hesitation.
Then, he turned his gaze to the bottom of the Spirit Origin Gallery.
“With this insane buff, it's the perfect time to take those low-stars who usually never get a turn and just rot in the warehouse out for a spin!”
With excitement, PD dug out [Gilles de Rais (Caster)], [Phantom of the Opera], [Caligula], and a bunch of other low-star Evil-aligned Servants he usually wouldn't even glance at, stuffing them into the backline to leech Bond Points.
“All-out villains, prepare to clear the field!”
Formation complete. Da Vinci nodded on the screen and pressed the start button.
“Well then, good luck. Rayshift, start—!”
“Three, two, one until transfer...”
A slight vibration came from inside the VR pod, and the surrounding scenery turned into blue spiritrons dancing in the air. That feeling of traveling through the torrent of time was simulated perfectly by the akashic engine.
However, as the blinding white light gradually faded...
“Whoosh—!!!”
Violent winds like knives scraped past his ears, and an intense feeling of weightlessness instantly filled his brain!
PD snapped his eyes open.
To his horror, he found himself thousands of meters in the air, falling rapidly like a meteor toward the neon-lit, dilapidated cyberpunk city below!
“Holy sh*t, holy sh*t, holy sh*t! What's going on?! The landing coordinates must be wrong!”
Terrified, PD flailed his arms and legs in mid-air, screaming at the top of his lungs.
But the worst was yet to come.
“Buzz—!”
Accompanied by the harsh sound of machinery, several mechanical chimeras (Suzumebachi) with twisted metal limbs and grenade launchers mounted on their tails emerged from the clouds below, their crimson electronic eyes locking onto PD in mid-air.
“Bang! Bang! Bang!”
A dense barrage of grenades trailed fire, heading straight for his defenseless body!
In this high altitude with nowhere to gain leverage, facing concentrated fire, PD's pupils shrank to the size of pinheads, and his heart nearly jumped out of his throat.
“Is this freaking pioneering? This is freaking dying the moment I land!”
Just as the grenades were about to blow him to pieces...
“Bang! Bang! Bang!” The deafening sound of heavy artillery tore through the wind!
Dozens of miniature tracking missiles trailing blue fire poured down from an angle like a precise meteor shower, instantly blowing those mechanical chimeras into spheres of fire!