Fate: Nameless Hero

"So it really was you!!!"

Sanjiro's smile instantly became warm and kind.

From the very beginning, he'd been puzzled as to why Tiamat would descend into the human world.

That was the Beast of Humanity we were talking about—her arrival would inevitably threaten the entire human race…

It could even lead to the complete collapse of human history.

That was the very reason the Singularity had formed back then, and why he, the King of Heroes, and others had spared no cost to banish her into the Imaginary Number Space.

As bitter and heart-wrenching as it had been, one fact could not be denied—

Her very existence is the Original Sin!

Like that old conversation:

Q: "Which is more important to humanity—the love of the Mother of Creation, or her malice?"

A: "Neither is important to humanity. What's most important is no Mother of Creation at all."

When your mere existence is sin, your arrival will always bring calamity without end.

That was the true meaning of [Parting].

Sanjiro glanced around him.

Everyone was frozen in place, the whole world seeming to stand still.

Whether it was the dazzling fireworks blossoming in the sky…

The wary, uncertain expressions of top-tier Heroic Spirits like Shikotei and Gilgamesh…

Or even the long, flowing blue hair of the Beast of Humanity—all of it had halted in that instant.

This was, in the truest sense—

[Time Stop]

As the consciousness collective of billions of humans, the Counter Force possessed unimaginable power.

Not even a Beast of Humanity could compare to it.

Sanjiro eyed her with open disdain.

"Why the hell do you insist on disguising yourself as a loli? You think that'll hide your black-hearted nature?"

On the screen sat a loli with long, silky platinum hair so clear and radiant it was as if sunlight itself had taken form—brimming with a bright, sweet warmth.

Her deep blue eyes seemed to hold the whole world, the perfect embodiment of "beauty."

Her petite body was wrapped in nothing but a single white cloth, exuding an air of fragile delicacy.

Looking at her, Sanjiro felt as if he forgot how to breathe, unable to look away.

Even if she killed him, he wouldn't move.

If "beauty" could kill, then she was the beauty itself!

A true witch.

She gently swung on her swing, sunlight spilling over her, her platinum hair glowing all the brighter—like a waterfall of light flowing over her body.

"I am the collective consciousness of humanity. The way I appear to you—my looks and personality—is simply your own impression of me."

She blinked innocently.

"Sanjiro, and you still claim you're not into lolis? I'm a legal loli, you know. Want to reconsider?"

"…Knew it, you're pink-on-the-outside, black-on-the-inside."

Sanjiro's mouth twitched.

The more stunning her appearance, the more dangerous she felt.

Even after working under her for countless years, this was the first time he'd seen her take human form.

Before, she'd always been just a vague, intangible mission feed—like some unfeeling quest NPC.

But ever since the world's reset, she'd been becoming more and more… human.

Was that his influence?

She spoke under his gaze.

"A Beast of Humanity loves mankind so extremely, it turns into the desire to destroy it—Tiamat is one such example."

Alaya rocked the swing idly.

"As the collective consciousness of humanity, I am responsible for humanity's survival. I cannot allow such a being to descend and destroy."

The two great Counter Forces—

[Gaia] only cares about the Earth's survival.

[Alaya] only cares about humanity's survival.

"So… why let Her descend at all? Just to help me?" Sanjiro's voice was full of suspicion.

When had this woman ever been so kind?

Was she about to hand him a year-end bonus or something?

"Yes. Just to help you."

Alaya nodded.

"Disaster is coming. Humanity needs you to grow stronger. Of course, you could also choose to go with Her into the Imaginary Number Space instead."

"…Disaster."

Sanjiro fell silent.

His recent experiences had already given him a faint idea.

The way [Alaya] had been urgently releasing one exposé video after another—it was clearly some kind of countdown.

The countdown… to the extinction of humanity.

"Like in a game—you need a tank, a support, an assassin, a mage… now is the time to gather your own team." Alaya continued.

"…So you're trying to rope me into working for you again?"

Sanjiro looked at her with undisguised irritation.

It was precisely because he'd signed that contract with her before that he'd ended up on this no-return road called "Hero of Justice."

After fighting who knows how many powerful foes, he really just wanted to lie down and rest.

But—

Alaya shook her head gently.

"No, this time you do it for yourself. You can choose to refuse."

"…"

Sanjiro suddenly didn't know what to say.

So now he'd gone from a wage slave to a small business owner?

The problem was—

For her to even say that meant they'd be facing something beyond even Beasts and Grands.

If a Beast of Humanity like Tiamat was "qualified" to be his healer… just what kind of monster was the enemy?

Even [Alaya] couldn't guarantee victory.

Humanity was doomed.

Buzz~

Alaya waved her small hand, and a new video appeared on the screen.

Zzzzt—Zzzzt—

Purple lightning crackled madly, forming a dragon of thunder that stretched from Fuyuki all the way toward South America.

It was the so-called King of Gods—the Machine God's chosen—who had escaped earlier.

Under Tiamat's death-beam, the gods' projections had burst apart like fireworks.

True, the projections were only at half their true power, and destroying them only left the originals weakened and wounded—

But Tiamat hadn't even gone all out!

Her current power upon descending was less than a tenth of her true self.

She hadn't used [NegaGenesis] or any other forbidden moves either.

If her real body truly descended at full strength, she could slap the entire Japanese Archipelago into the ocean in one blow.

Alaya pointed at the fleeing Machine God.

"He's one of the enemies you'll need to face."

"I do want to kill that guy," Wei Gong said calmly.

Not only had he threatened him, he'd even had the gall to try to snatch Tiamat away.

That was taking disrespect way too far.

====

The other party traveled all the way to South America, landing in a strange place.

After waiting a moment—

Confirming that the Mother Goddess of Creation wasn't pursuing—this Machine God returned to there base.

All eleven Machine Gods gathered together.

Previously, aside from the God of War, they had all descended only as projections, and being blasted apart had greatly weakened their auras.

One by one, they reverted to human form.

Even now, under the lingering terror of that earlier overwhelming presence, their bodies were still trembling.

The Goddess of Wisdom spoke in an extremely serious tone:

"We can't oppose her! She's a super-spec existence, and only another super-spec can match her!"

"Humanity is doomed… Beast-class beings keep appearing on Earth!" said the God of the Underworld.

As the ruler of death, he was now completely certain that the "concept of death" he saw on Tiamat earlier—

Had clearly come from that Grand Assassin, King Hassan!

That one swing, relinquishing his Grand status, could even grant Tiamat the concept of death.

Against gods, it would absolutely be—

Certain Death.

This left the God of the Underworld speechless.

He was supposed to be the ruler of death, yet he didn't have an instant-kill ability of that caliber?

"That Human Evil… the ocean that represents the origin of life—she's more adept at ruling the seas than I am!"

The Sea God was equally helpless.

He was supposed to be the sovereign of the seas, yet in her presence, he was utterly useless.

The entire ocean was practically part of her body.

The moment she appeared, she completely suppressed all his rights and powers.

The Sun God lifted his head toward the sun, basking in its golden light:

"We don't have much time. That ancient existence is about to awaken—the whole Earth will face annihilation!"

"The people of Asia have a sense of homeland. They won't flee alone—if necessary, they'd rather perish with the Earth, or even take the Earth wandering with them."

The God-King looked nothing like someone who had just fled in panic—rather, he seemed full of confidence.

"But we are different—we can build our own Noah's Ark and escape with our elite!"

That was their greatest advantage.

By abandoning their humanity, they could fight and flee without scruples.

"God-King, what about the result of that inquiry earlier?" asked the Goddess of Wisdom.

"That existence has agreed—when that Beast of Humanity acts again, he will step in to block her. As long as you all recover, we can start the war!"

The God-King continued:

"Once this battle ends, we can harvest humanity's ultimate power—the vast energy needed for interstellar travel!"

Since humanity was bound for destruction, they had no intention of staying to die with them.

"We need an enormous amount of resources—it's time to start selling tickets."

The Moon Goddess turned to the Sun God beside her:

"Jess, help me prepare."

In Greek myth, the moon and sun gods were siblings.

In the Council of Gods, they were siblings as well—he had clung to her since childhood, and their relationship was close.

However—

Faced with her smiling friendliness, he coldly replied:

"Please address me as Councilor Sun God, Councilor Moon God. This is the Council of Gods, not your home."

"… …"

The Moon Goddess fell silent.

After merging with the Machine Gods, it seemed everyone was changing drastically…

The God-King spoke calmly:

"Then, let's vote on the war against Nameless and the First Emperor."

In an instant—unanimous approval!

The colossal war machine of United States had been building for over a hundred years quietly began mobilizing at that moment!

The video ended.

Sanjiro's killing intent toward this lot grew stronger.

They clearly intended to take the same path as the Demon King—burning human history to collect the massive energy for space travel.

The fate of humanity wasn't even worth considering in their eyes.

And since the gods were in such a hurry to leave, a terrifying thought entered Sanjiro's mind—

"Could Earth be destroyed???"

The gods were openly prepared to abandon the planet—Which meant the Earth itself might be facing annihilation!

"That, I don't know—I'm just the collective human consciousness, not the Root."

Alaya's small face was equally grave:

"But I can tell you—the end-of-the-world brat you're watching over will have a helper of the same level!"

"… …"

Sanjiro suddenly felt his liver ache.

In his past life, he had used every trick imaginable to finally defeat and seal that thing, rebooting the destroyed human world.

And now, you're telling me—beating the boss was only phase one, and phase two is even stronger?

What kind of game is this?!

They say games should be played with a smile—

The problem is—

I can't smile, dammit!!

Sanjiro took a deep breath, realizing that the giant spider sleeping in South America had truly begun its awakening countdown.

That thing was Type: Mercury—an existence so powerful it could crush any Heroic Spirit.

It had responded to Gaia's original call, arriving on Earth who knows how many years early—just to wipe out humanity.

If it teamed up with the brat, Earth was guaranteed doomed!

Should he also build a Noah's Ark and start a wandering journey?

Sanjiro glanced up at the sun like Apollo—could the sun be about to explode too?

No, no—even if the sun was headed for destruction, that'd be billions of years away—it had nothing to do with humanity right now.

Surely no monster would come crawling out of the sun, right?

…Better think about how to deal with the coming disaster first.

Sanjiro asked seriously:

"So, what do I need to do next?"

"You'll know after the next video. That being's three-minute intervention time is up, but she can still move freely on Earth for a while—she's all yours."

Alaya hopped off the swing, casually spun in place—

Her platinum hair turned into light, dancing behind her, filled with divine transcendence.

She blinked—then suddenly vanished.

And in that instant, the time that had seemed frozen resumed completely.

Sanjiro noticed something off—

It wasn't that she had actually paused time for the whole world—she had just appeared directly in his mind, making him think time had stopped?

Sanjiro curled his lip.

As expected—sweet on the outside, pitch-black inside.

The cuter they look, the blacker they are inside!

If she truly had invincible power, she wouldn't need him fighting at all.

The next video was about the Age of Gods in Greece—linked to the Olympians, and to the Council of Gods.

Shikotei hurried over:

"Teacher, are you alright?"

The stronger the Mother Goddess of Creation seemed, the more he worried about the threat she posed.

That being would absolutely want to snatch the Teacher away—to the Imaginary Number Space!

"I'm fine." Sanjiro gave a slight shake of the head.

Now came the time to deal with the mess.

Sanjiro lightly stomped the ground:

"This mechanical God of War—take it and study it. See if you can break it down."

The other eleven Machine Gods had all been projections—only the War God had foolishly come in person, which gave Sanjiro the chance to kill him.

As expected of the reckless War God he knew so well—

In his mind, a warrior never retreats after charging.

[Charge]

And since Komei loved working overtime, he might as well make him work extra shifts studying this mech.

Heroic Spirits don't get tired—making them the perfect workers!

…Wait, when did he start thinking like Alaya?

Sanjiro quickly reflected—

Such black-hearted capitalist thoughts were all Alaya's fault!

Clink, clink!

At that moment, Enkidu instantly reverted to golden chains, returning to Sanjiro's waist.

Even against the Mother Goddess, she hadn't flinched.

If necessary, she was ready to sacrifice herself again to block the Mother Goddess's advance!

Gilgamesh also came over, lowering his voice:

"What do we do next?"

Earlier, the two had teamed up against the Mother Goddess.

Now she had descended again, casually blasting apart Machine God projections—

So strong that even the Hero King had no hope of victory.

Sanjiro said gravely:

"Earlier, Tiamat said she wanted you to atone for your sins."

"???"

Gilgamesh froze—

Already thinking about how to apologize… or run.

Back in that Singularity, he had wielded Ea without hesitation, unleashing his Noble Phantasm to drive her away.

If atonement meant what he thought, wouldn't that be certain death?

Then he saw the smile tugging at Sanjiro's lips—and realized he'd been tricked again.

Gilgamesh gripped Ea tightly—then glanced at the Mother Goddess in the distance, hurriedly stashing Ea back into the Gate of Babylon.

Through clenched teeth, he whispered:

"My dear friend… we will settle this later!"

Even in such a crisis, this bastard dared to mess with him—clearly he wouldn't learn until he saw his own coffin.

Still… it didn't seem dangerous anymore.

…Just how had that damned friend "convinced" Tiamat?

Could it be he promised to… produce an army of Lahmus?

Gilgamesh's mouth twitched—feeling a sudden surge of pity for his friend.

That was the Creator Mother Goddess — a terrifying primordial being capable of birthing countless lifeforms.

Could a mere friend really satisfy her?

Good luck with that!

Just then, Gilgamesh noticed that the blue-haired woman had already begun walking over. His first instinct was to block her path to protect his friend — but he quickly stepped aside.

Since there didn't seem to be any immediate danger to his friend's life, it wasn't his problem.

Under the gaze of everyone present—

The woman who had so effortlessly obliterated the projections of the Council of Gods stopped in front of Sanjiro and spoke gently:

"Aaaaa (Can you take me for a walk?)"

Shikotei and Gilgamesh exchanged a glance, completely unable to understand what she was saying.

This was a language from the primordial age — only beings of the same tier could comprehend it.

Could she be trying to take Sanjiro away?

The same thought occurred to both of them at once.

If a Human Evil had silently descended upon the world, there would inevitably be a heavy price to pay.

And if such a price was paid, she would naturally expect something in return.

Back during the Singularity incident, Sanjiro had once promised to visit her in the Imaginary Number Space — a promise he had never kept.

Clearly, he was now her core target.

Her earlier strike against the Gods' projections was probably just an advance "goodwill gift."

So… should they step in to stop her?

While the two top-tier Heroic Spirits were still debating, Sanjiro said calmly: "Don't worry, I'm fine. She just wants me to take her for a little walk."

A little walk???

Shikotei's expression grew even graver.

This was the Creator Mother Goddess — someone who could annihilate humanity.

Letting her "just walk around" was no different from giving a child an armed nuclear warhead and letting them wander freely in a city!

If she went berserk in Fuyuki City, the cost would be the destruction of the whole city.

If she wandered off elsewhere, she could threaten any part of the country.

Sanjiro, naturally aware of his concern, reassured him:

"Relax, I've got this."

As the one who ruled the Empire, Shikotei bore responsibility for the lives of its two billion citizens.

If necessary, he would sacrifice himself without hesitation to stop Tiamat.

But right now, it wasn't necessary.

As terrifying as she was, Tiamat had always loved humanity and could never bring herself to truly destroy it.

On the contrary, she could become Sanjiro's exclusive healer — supporting him in battle.

"…Alright."

Shikotei gave a low, deliberate nod.

Gilgamesh likewise stood quietly to the side.

Under the watchful eyes of the two Heroic Spirits—

Hum~

Ripples of energy flared briefly, and Sanjiro and Tiamat vanished without a trace.

When they reappeared, they had traveled from the outskirts to the vicinity of a school.

The Fuyuki Academy City housed hundreds of thousands of students — practically a city in its own right.

Many lived there year-round without ever leaving.

Sanjiro cleared his throat and reminded her:

"Maybe change into something less eye-catching, or you'll draw too much attention."

The Creator Mother Goddess radiated a primordial allure that made heads turn instinctively.

As for Sanjiro himself, now infamous as the newly-risen Nameless Heroic Spirit, he had long since disguised himself as an ordinary person.

Even a certain bratty kid wouldn't recognize him now.

At his suggestion—

Light shimmered over Tiamat's body, stripping away all traces of her supernatural charm.

She swapped into a silver-gray down jacket, her slender legs still sheathed in black stockings — the standard attire of a Japanese girl.

Then—

She glanced over at a passing couple and imitated them, reaching out to take Sanjiro's hand:

"Aaaaa (Walk with me like ordinary humans do.)"

"Alright."

Sanjiro nodded.

Her hand in his, he suddenly felt a strange, unfamiliar emotion.

This was the mighty Creator Mother Goddess — yet now she felt like an ordinary girl, and he was…

…on a date with her???

It was such a bizarre feeling.

If the passersby around them knew that this was the Human Evil from the Absolute Demonic Front video, they'd all be scared half to death.

Luckily, no one knew.

People hurried past without giving them a second glance.

The two of them strolled quietly down the bustling street.

Sanjiro thought back to the last time he'd gone out like this — it had been holding that brat's hand.

And before that, he'd been wandering with Cú Chulainn.

Accompanying a Human Evil on a casual outing was definitely a first.

Tiamat gripped his hand tightly, as if afraid he might run away.

Along the way, she kept glancing around in curiosity:

"Aaaaa (I care about the children's lives.)"

In the Imaginary Number Space, no life existed.

Only she existed there — alone to the point of unbearable loneliness.

After being banished again 4,600 years ago, she had finally returned to the human world.

"…I'm really sorry. Humanity has grown up. We don't need a mother's protection anymore." Sanjiro sighed softly.

It was by his own persuasion, back then, that she had abandoned all resistance — allowing the Hero King to banish her with Ea.

To leave her alone in the Imaginary Space… the thought itself was pitiable.

"Aaaaa (I gave birth to countless lives… I just wanted my children to stay by my side. But now I see they live better apart from me.)"

Tiamat gazed at the smiling faces of the people coming and going.

Her hand in Sanjiro's tightened slightly, and she too smiled.

"Aaaaa (The children no longer need my protection. Back then… it was indeed time to let them go.)"

Even though her children had betrayed and forgotten her once again, she still wished for humanity to live better.

That only made Sanjiro's heart ache for her even more.

Perhaps this was the universal feeling of all mothers —

As long as the children are happy, the mother will endure any hardship without complaint.

At that moment—

A black-haired, twin-tailed girl they were passing suddenly stopped and looked at them with puzzlement.

More precisely, she was staring at Tiamat.

Wei Gong looked up and instantly recognized her as the triple-fused Rin Tohsaka.

The girl blinked and spoke blankly:

"…Mom?"