Lostbelt 1 Summary: Section 21 (PART 1)

Section 21: The Thunder Emperor Reigns (Part 1)



Atalante Alter:
….


Musashi:
…I see, a child.


Beowulf:
…Hoh.


A fading Avicebron begins to speak.


Avicebron:
It seems that when I was summoned as a Servant, I killed people.
...There must be such Servants too. Ones who dirtied their hands which had been clean in life.
Once summoned, killing and harming others became unavoidable. In the first place, the Holy Grail War is a festival meant to fulfil the desires of mages.
It could not be helped that such things happened. And so, I did terrible deeds in that Holy Grail War.
My dearest wish, the recreation of the [Primordial Human], and the salvation of my suffering people.
For that reason, I would trample even my own dignity and ethics.
I killed the child who was my own Master.
… In the end, this are all but records. I cannot remember their name, nor their face.
Even though I performed such a cruel and inhuman act, I cannot remember anything.
However, this record torments me as truth. Since my summoning, it has continued to stab at me---
As if telling me, ”You are but the same as those mages driven only by their own desires”.


Guda:
That’s not…!


Beowulf:
…You can’t say it’s not true. Well, I’m completely blank on that end, myself.
But the record’s presence or absence is likely governed by a Servant’s personality or thoughts, or perhaps the contents of their memories.
There’s no need to remember your everyday, commonplace battle, but you’d want to remember something like saving the world, at least.
…That you are regretting your record of killing a child is already quite admirable of you in and of itself.
But, you’re standing right here at this moment for the sake of restoring the Human Order.
You won’t be forgiven for turning yourself into a sacrifice.


Avicebron:
….That’s right… perhaps there’s no excuse for this….
But…
What is needed now… is not a Servant, but a giant… A powerful force… that can stand up to the Thunder Emperor…
Kadoc Zemlupus…
It would be better if you did not think of him as mediocre. He’ll trip you up…


Guda:
Avicebron…!


Avicebron:
Master… I am sorry.
However, for someone like me to be in service to the Human Order--- I am afraid this is the only moment I can do so.
I will transfer the commanding authority for the “Giant” to you. May you be blessed with good fortune.
A long journey and a cruel choice awaits you. However, I yet believe.
---Fight on, boy. I believe in you. I believe that humans will have the tenacity to endure their duties!


Guda:
…!


Avicebron disappears, and the labyrinth begins to quake. It looks like Avicebron has turned the entirety of the Minotauros’s labyrinth into material for his final golem. It rises up above Yaga Moskva, casting a shadow over the city. The city’s residents begin to make a run for it. A battle is about to begin.

Anastasia approaches Patsy, asking him to wait. He reflexively raises his gun at her, but she freezes and breaks his weapon. Now that he is caught helpless, Anastasia asks if he is travelling with Chaldea. He confirms it. She wonders why a Yaga is helping them, and if he is with the rebels. Patsy denies that at first, though he proceeds to clarify that he could be considered a rebel not too long ago, but he changed his mind after seeing Ivan.


Anastasia:
Ah, that’s right.
I heard that on a whim, the priest showed the Thunder Emperor to a Yaga and he was terribly shocked.
Wasn’t it pleasant?


Patsy:
Wh---


Anastasia:
However, there’s no longer any need to be afraid. Ivan the Terrible will be awakening from his dream now, after all.
---With this, the Fantasy Tree will finally draw mana from the leylines.


Patsy:
…What’s that about? No, rather than that, by awakening… you mean that…!?


Anastasia:
Yes, he will arise. You fear that, don’t you, Yaga.
But it is alright. We will defeat Ivan the Terrible.


Patsy:
Wha….!


Anastasia:
Oops, I said it. I accidentally let it slip.
Somehow it feels good. It’s refreshing.
I will grant you your destruction, Tsar. The last one in this world who can become Russia.


The Oprichniki quickly take note of Anastasia’s rebellious intent, but it is already too late. She freezes and shatters the Oprichniki. Their role is already over, for the Tsar will soon awaken from his dream.


===


---This is a story from a little while before. From when the summoning was just completed.



Salieri:
…Finally, I can have an audience with him. I can feel that he is here.
If you try to protect him I will kill you too. Let me meet that man, you dog who pretends to be a holy man.


Priest:
To think that you could scatter the Oprichniki and arrive here with that meagre Saint Graph of yours.
Very well, as a mark of respect to your effort, I will allow you an audience with Amadeus.
Why, it is something that he said himself.
”If a man claiming to be my friend wants to meet me, please guide him to me. He has that right.”
So it seems. He had an innocent smile, truly like that of an angel.



---Amadeus, Amadeus.

I must meet you, I must question you.

What is the meaning, what is the purpose of our summoning to this Lostbelt?

…I want to ask that. I want to ask if we should kill each other.

Or perhaps, to be one-sidedly killed.

Whether this passion nestling in my breast should be an offering to my friend. Or--- whether it should be a stake meant only to stab.

I thought that I would understand it as long as we met.



Priest:
However, please know and ready yourself for this before you meet. After all, he is very tired.
If his performance is a [Noble Phantasm], he has been conducting it for this two months without a second’s rest.
That Saint Graph is already more fragile than a corpse’s rotting flesh, that soul flickering more faintly than a match’s flame.
In short, he is in a rather unsightly state.



Within my heart, a sense of foreboding floated to the surface.

Those words showed that the situation was abnormal. However, without being able to determine just what it was…

I met him.


Amadeus:
…As I thought. Those neurotic and fastidious footsteps were just like yours.
Hey, “Man in Gray”. Have you come to grant me death?


Salieri:
Amadeus…!? Just what have you all done to this divine genius!?


Priest:
As you can see, he is playing the piano. Purely playing it, without a moment’s rest.
However, it is not something we compelled him to do.
He volunteered himself upon knowing of this Russia.
”My my. It seems like this will be a long concert”, he said.


Salieri:
That can’t be--- playing the piano and the orchestra all by yourself! Why would someone as fickle and flighty as you perform such hard labour…!


Amadeus:
That’s a really mean thing to say. Rather than an actual concert, this is just playing a single song and getting paid in my free time.
This time I’m dealing with a proper opponent, and so I’m fired up too.
Furthermore, the Tsar seems to be conscious even now. I was reluctant to withdraw.
If he awakens fully, this country will be thoroughly crushed. Then, there is no other choice than to show him a good dream, right?


Salieri:
For that reason… the piano…?
For your greedy, miserly self to be sitting here, with no proper audience, in the cold air…
For the sake of some sleepy old fogey who can’t even understand a speck of your value, you would bet your own soul and continue to play…!?


Amadeus:
It’s a bit rude to call him an old fogey. But, well, it’s true that his age is quite advanced.
The Thunder Emperor is a good listener. He told me that my music was like paradise.
However, I’m at my limit now. I’m dying. This environment is too harsh for the body of a weak Servant.
My fingers can no longer move. This is harsher than the illness I suffered right before my death.
Though having said that, just up and dying would be a waste. I need a way to make it useful.
And so, I thought that I’d be better off letting you kill me. That was the condition I gave Macarius.
See, she and the others are not in this place. It’s just the right time for you to kill me.
You hate me enough to kill me, don’t you? Then do it here, quickly.


Salieri:
You…! You, you, to think you could say such a thing!
To think me capable of killing someone who has reached the realm of the divine with these hands!
To treat those scandalous rumours as truth! To think... you could say such a thing…!


Amadeus:
Yeah. If hating Amadeus stresses you out so much, why not give it a try for once.
This might unexpectedly make you feel better. Ah, but---
That does not mean the life of the person that you are will find salvation. That is something even my genius self cannot do anything about.
Ugh…!


Salieri:
Amadeus!


Amadeus:
Oh, goodness, I’m done for just when I felt at ease. No more, I can’t hold on for even a minute longer.
It’s always like this with you.
You’d jump me out of nowhere, suddenly demand a showdown, and make unreasonable demands.
So this time, I’ll be selfish, alright? When this is all over, play Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.


Salieri:
…What are you…?


Amadeus:
---Aah, I understand now.
Even though I don’t have a chance to survive, I have a chance to win.
Salieri. It’s all in the timing.
If you do not assist both enemy and ally--- you cannot defeat that.
That is why, for just a short time. To you, the only one who would approach me in this way.
To you, who knows that you will never reach me and so continues to hate. I leave it all to you.
Why, the patron’s ears are dull.
He will not be able to notice the difference between us, which only we know.
I shall put a curse on you.


Salieri:
Stop it, you---!!


Amadeus:
---Now, listen for a while. You are Amadeus.


Salieri:
Ugh… gah…. Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaah! Amadeus, you…!


Amadeus:
Ah, good grief. What an unamusing job…
No… it was rather interesting after all…? To have the world’s largest monster… see a dream through my piano…
As if the palm of my hand… the small palm of my hand… enveloped the world…
It’s… unexpectedly… not bad, perhaps---


===


And so Salieri screams. Now, he remembers.


Priest:
Now, play the requiem to your heart’s desire.
This is something of Amadeus’s, something for the sake of the Tsar.
Or perhaps, something for your own sake, having lost your own self. The musical instrument is over there.


The palace shakes.

In the square, Patsy is screaming at Anastasia, asking if she’s in her right mind. She replies that she is and has always been. In fact, this is an opportunity that only comes once in a lifetime. With the Servants of Chaldea, her and Kadoc, as well as that giant golem, their combined strength might be able to bring about a miraculous victory. She assures Patsy again that this is all for the sake of saving the world.


Anastasia:
--Right, right, I’ll tell you just one thing. It’s rather important.
It’s about what the devil that is Chaldea is trying to do.


Patsy:
Huh…?


Anastasia:
They are restoring the Human Order, so that this planet can be restored to its rightful state.
But that is not something that will save all of you. It will merely cut off the mistaken history which has advanced in a wrong path.
Hey, do you know the human of Chaldea well? If you do, tell me.
Does he really know what he has to do for his own sake?


===


Within the palace, the Oprichniki are vanishing.


Oprichniki:
He awakens from the dream. He awakens from the dream.
The great one awakens from the dream. ---Therefore, we too will depart.
All glory to the great Tsar.


In the Shadow Border, Meuniere has picked up the Oprichniki’s Saint Graphs disappearing one after another. With the battle occurring in Yaga Moskva, the Tsar can no longer continue dreaming. But still, this exceeds even Holmes’s expectations.


Gordolf:
Awawa, is it my eyes playing tricks on me, is it the monitor malfunctioning, or is it Da Vinci’s prank!?
What’s happened, Holmes! Just now, that thing appearing on the monitor---
That thing is at very least a super big piece of work, isn’t it!? Actually, in the first place---
Hasn’t this vehicle been moving from just now!? Uh, it’s heading towards that thing which is moving in sync with the tremors on the ground!?
Eii, stop, hit the brakes, Meuniere!
What can we do if we go there? We can’t do anything! We’d just get stomped on!
Send out an order for Guda to retreat! The investigation of that Fantasy Tree’s not important now!
We’ll retreat from Russian territory! Even if it’s just as reckless, it’d be better to dive back into the Sea of Imaginary Numbers!


Holmes:
That cannot be done. The crew members in Yaga Moskva cannot retreat.
The length of its stride is far too great. They would be crushed before they managed to escape Yaga Moskva.
Our victory conditions remain unchanged. Defeat Ivan the Terrible, and capture the Crypter.
To that end, we must throw ourselves in battle with all our might.
---Da Vinci, how are preparations on your end? No need for impressions, send me just the numbers.



Da Vinci (Voice):
Saint Graph Exoskeleton: Orthenaus has cleared minimum threshold value. Internal pressure adjustments, combustion mechanism, armaments, all A-OK.
---Armored, ready for launch. What’s next depends on her mental state.


Holmes:
I don’t require a report on that. Mr. Meuniere, take us straight towards the western part of Yaga Moskva.
The predicted time of arrival before meeting up with the investigation team is 10 minutes and 30 seconds!


Gordolf:
Didn’t I tell you to stop----!? We’re going to die, even this Phoenix is going to die---!


===


In the palace, the priest talks about Ivan the Terrible. He is no normal Yaga, but something that has fused with the largest primordial organism discovered in the Russian permafrost. The fusion has put him into a state of growth. Perhaps it is because he has the qualities of a hero, or perhaps it is because he has the bloodline of a Tsar. Regardless, he is even now continuing to grow. Though it was said that mammoths and sabertooth tigers headed towards extinction as their tusks grew too much, Ivan has overcome that ruin.


Priest:
Now, the Tsar is no longer a revered and beloved existence. Just a monster to be feared.


The priest steps towards the window, drawing back the curtains.


Priest:
Continue to play with all of your hatred, Salieri.
The nap is over. The Tsar will finally come face to face with the truth.


The Oprichniki in Yaga Moskva continue to turn to dust, shouting their praises to the Tsar. While the citizens are confused as to what is going on, Beowulf realizes Ivan is about to awaken and asks about the golem. It looks like it is still under construction. Suddenly, something startles Beowulf.


Guda:
What’s the matter?


Beowulf:
…is that a joke?


Musashi:
….Looks like it isn’t.


===


---Oh. Oh, oh, oh.

I have awoken from my dream. I have properly ascertained reality.

Yes, my dream is yet to be complete---

There are countless rebels to be slaughtered, territory to be expanded!

The nap is over. If I do not stand… if I do not stand!


===


Ivan rises from his slumber as the priest watches. Once, the Tsar had left the capital of Moskva and moved to Alexandrov. However, that city no longer exists in this Lostbelt. As Ivan slept, he changed, mutated, evolved and grew, and for that reason, Alexandrov vanished from the earth.


Priest:
---Yes. That mountain is indeed the ruined remnants of the sleeping man who now returns to Yaga Moskva from Alexandrov.
Ivan the Terrible is no longer human, nor even Yaga.
The Tsar has become a beast of the gods--- that gigantic form is the end of the path which he dreamed.


Ivan roars out for Anastasia.


Ivan the Terrible:
Anastasia! O, Anastasia! I have heard the Oprichniki’s reports!
You… have betrayed me!?
Peace, happiness, were they all lies!? Anastasiaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!


The citizens of the city panic. The Tsar is angered. This world will end. Even the rebels have lost their morale – there is no way they believe they can defeat the gigantic mammoth. Atalante orders them to keep their distance and not to be swept away by the fleeing citizens.


Atalante Alter:
Now that it’s come to this, there’s no longer any differentiating between citizens and rebels! Keep them under control!
Retreat with all your might!


Rebel Yaga:
R-Roger that!


The Yaga runs off as per Atalante's orders.


Atalante Alter:
…Even though I have fought both magical beasts and giants before…
I have never seen anything of that size before… perhaps it could match the true forms of the gods of Olympus?


Beowulf’s heard that giants were all over the place during the Age of Gods. The ones in his era were only around 10 metres at most, though. Patsy is going “I told you so” about not waking up the Tsar. He thinks there’s nothing you can do against something that big.


Musashi:
Maybe you should’ve told us about this properly beforehand!?
Anyway, if you’d just said something like, it’s really big, we’d be better prepared for it!
Actually, that’s not a mountain but an elephant! A giant elephant! Isn’t that a mammoth!?


Patsy:
Huh? El-li-fant? What’s an ellifant!? Is it an animal!?


It looks like elephants are extinct in this world. It’d be hard to explain it to Patsy in detail. Musashi just tells Patsy that it’s not a mountain, but something called an elephant. Though it’s a lot bigger than usual. He seems surprised that something like that exists in his world too.


Guda:
Can we win?


Beowulf:
It’s not about whether or not we can win. We can only fight.


Without saying a word, you slap your cheeks.


Musashi:
Yup. That’s how a general should be. While riding on the golem, you’ll get a bird’s eye view so we’ll leave the command to you.


Beowulf:
Yeah. You’ll need to find the best timing to use your Command Spells. We’ll leave the timing to unleash our trump cards to you.
…Still, that guy, he’s not seeing us at all, is he?
He’s calling out for Anastasia, saying something about being betrayed.


Kadoc appears, confirming that betrayal has taken place. If you’re still alive, he wants your help.


Guda:
Are you fighting Ivan the Terrible too?


Kadoc:
It’s great that you have good powers of observation.
The Oprichniki have been dismissed and Ivan the Terrible is awake.
All that’s left is to defeat him.


Beowulf points out that what he really wants is the giant golem. Kadoc doesn’t deny it. He goes on to say that for Russia, Ivan is now just a walking calamity. A living volcano that will spray destruction everywhere, be it human or Yaga or Heroic Spirits. So, it’d be better to put him down. Your arrival was a good chance for Kadoc to build up a new Russia. That is why he will use you as he pleases.


Musashi:
…That’s a really roundabout way of doing things.
If you were just honest and asked Guda-kun for help, he’d have agreed.


Kadoc:
It’s not like I want to become friends or anything. I’m just collecting pawns so that I can triumph over the Thunder Emperor.
The rebels, Chaldea, Anastasia and I.
All of us have no choice but to defeat Ivan. I merely prepared this stage where there are no other choices.
See, Guda.
This is just the usual for you, isn’t it? Acting to save the world.


Guda:
…Got it.


Kadoc:
A good reply.
Even Ivan the Terrible has a weak point. His movements are dull.


Beowulf asks if there’s any meaning in knowing that. Musashi agrees, saying that it’s only natural for something like a mountain to move dully. Kadoc explains that he won’t be able to respond to the movements of Servants in time. It means that their attacks will land, at least.


Kadoc:
He can’t take to the skies. His suppressive force, however, is as you can see.
Just by moving, avalanches occur. The force of his trunk piercing the ground can substitute for an anti-army Noble Phantasm.
…There is but one weak point. The crown on its head… or rather, the true body.


Guda:
True body?


Kadoc:
Strengthen your vision. Then, you should be able to see it even through this blizzard.



Guda:
Can’t do that, though.


Kadoc:
…Damned amateur.


Beowulf:
Oh, I see it, I see it. It’s about the size of a pea at this distance, but it should be a pretty good size itself.


Musashi:
It’d be hard to get all the way up there in the first place. Even if we run at full speed up the trunk, we’d get swatted down before we get there.


Anastasia arrives, asking if everyone has gathered.


Anastasia:
---This no longer has anything to do with rebellion or fealty.
The calamity is moving, the Tsar has awoken. He will not stop before he destroys everything.
I can understand your feelings, that you bear a grudge against me. However, please assist us for now.


Kadoc:
…Anastasia, the Tsar is aiming for you.
So---


Anastasia:
I’ll resist as much as I can, with my Noble Phantasm.


Kadoc:
What’s left is your motivation then. Can you do it?


Anastasia:
…I may not be qualified as a ruler. I hate the people. I hate this land.
All that is precious to me is now far away. I do not even understand why I have become a Servant.
Without even anything left in the records, and in replacement, being filled with knowledge of this strange history.
However, I love my father, my mother, and my siblings. And they, in turn, loved Russia.
And so. If so.
I will not run from my duty. I will not drown and abandon myself to grief over what I have lost.
Solely, merely for the sake of that burden which is surely not light, I will eliminate Ivan the Terrible.


Kadoc:
…And there you have it. So, please…. You want to save this world, right?


Beowulf mutters that you’ve no choice but to go along. Musashi asks about the communications with the Border. It looks like they’ve been cut off at the moment. Musashi thinks to herself that her skin is starting to crawl. It looks like she won’t be able to stay here for much longer. Putting on her usual smile in front of you, she tells you that it’s nothing and that you should move out. Time is short.

Thinking that Billy won’t make it here in time, Beowulf gets Shanshan to deliver the message. Shanshan flies off.


Kadoc:
Anastasia. I’ll back you up with the Command Spells.
Atalante, you should already understand that this is no place to be talking about rebellion anymore.


Atalante Alter:
….Yeah.


Kadoc:
Then, attack. With your strength, pestering him is at least possible.
Fly.
…After that, I don’t care. Act as you wish.
Let’s go, Anastasia. The Thunder Emperor is waiting.


Kadoc walks off.


Anastasia:
----Fufu. Even if it may be small and weak, that flame will surely never be extinguished.
How human it is, for apathy and jealousy and hatred to all reside together.
Master of Chaldea. Are you able to triumph over my Master?
…You do not need to give an answer. I will hear it from you later, after all.


She leaves too. Beowulf tells you to support from the back. The Noble Phantasm, the golem that Avicebron left behind, will listen to your commands. Beowulf grins.


Beowulf:
Order it into battle. I’m counting on you!


Musashi:
Then I’ll be off for just a bit! See you later, Guda-kun!


Atalante Alter:
You better stay put. I’ve got too many arrows to loose, so be careful not to get engulfed in it.


The Servants set out to battle Ivan. The only ones left here are you and Patsy.


Patsy:
…So, how’s that, Guda. The world’s ending.


Guda:
It hasn’t ended yet.


Patsy:
That’s stupid. Look at that thing.
It’s casually crushing the town. What is that if not a devil?
…Even if I’m dumb, I understand.
Neither Servants nor that golem will be able to fight the Thunder Emperor.
Working together? That’s stupid.
The Thunder Emperor is undoubtedly the strongest in this world. It is an existence that stands at the peak.
That is why you can’t win.
Even if vaguely, you should have thought this, right, Guda?


Guda:
That’s---


Patsy:
…When I saw that thing, and heard its voice, I succumbed.
It’s only normal for me to lose heart. Could anyone even rebel against the rule of such a thing?
Can you win? Of course you can’t!
That is a god! A god in flesh, existing in reality!
An absolute existence that will permit any form of cruelty or irrationality!
That’s why… we Yaga have no choice but to obey. Hey, you understand, right?


Guda:
I understand everything you’re saying, but--- my feet can still move.


Patsy:
…You.


Guda:
--Fight on, boy, I was told. So, I’ll go.


Patsy:
…What!?



You get onto the golem.


===


---Awakening from a long dream, I noticed my surroundings have become naught.

The conversations with Father Macarius, the small exchanges with Anastasia.

They were all lies and obsfucation. That is what the Oprichniki conveyed.

…I became a Yaga and unified Russia.

To protect my people from the famine that accompanied the great cold wave, I repeatedly advanced West.

For the sake of my people. For the sake of protecting the Tsar’s glory.

Even so, the world abruptly ceased to exist.

All of our will, our effort, and our hopes had no influence on the fact that this world’s defeat had already been decided.

Yes, that was told to us by the voice of someone from the heavens. That was what was said by the priestess from another world, who appeared from the sky.

…I could not tolerate it.

I endured this hell not so that I could give up, not so that I could be pardoned.

I will absolutely not accept such an ending!

I, Russia, will not be destroyed! Absolutely not!


===


Ivan roars Anastasia’s name again. In Yaga Moskva, she remarks that he is making quite the noise. Anastasia recognizes that his anger is right, and so is his regret. However, it is time he hands that rage over to someone else. His existence itself has already become a sin. If Russia is to continue existing, his outdated thoughts are no longer necessary. Anastasia declares that they must head towards a new era.


Ivan the Terrible:
Nay!
I am Russia, and I am the one who shoulders this world!
I will not let the intruding old breed get in the way…!!


The sounds of giant footsteps shake the earth, giving Anastasia pause. It is you, riding on Avicebron’s golem.


Guda:
Let’s go! Golem Keter Malkuth!


Closing in, you direct the golem to grapple Ivan.


Ivan the Terrible:
Who are you!


Guda:
I am one from Chaldea!


Ivan the Terrible:
Chaldea… A survivor from Chaldea! So you allowed remnants to escape, Koyanskaya…!


Back down on the ground, Kadoc remarks that it’s made by the Golem Master, Avicebron after all.


Kadoc:
Since there’ll be protective magecraft equipped on the golem, it’s not surprising that someone would be able to ride on its shoulder, I suppose…
…Guda, are you nuts? No, I guess if you aren’t at least that crazy--- it’d be impossible.
It’s become something for me to study, seriously!


Anastasia:
---You must feel that it is unreasonable retribution, Tsar.
However, that is what fate is. Prepare yourself, Ivan the Terrible!