Shinji Matou at Your Service

Seeing Zepia like this, how could Shinji not guess the result of the future simulation?

"Ah, it failed. The end couldn't be avoided, could it? The end of the planet, the Land of Steel. Although it was known long ago that avoiding this inevitable conclusion was an almost impossible task, even the Jewel Old Man and that guy couldn't succeed after hundreds or thousands of years of effort. What chance do we have?"

"Foolish."

The illusion ceased, and the red that stained the moon slowly receded, restoring its original pure and incomplete moonlight.

Under the bright moon, the pure white princess looked indifferent.

"With birth comes an end. Our endpoint is always extinction. The toil due to seeing an obvious future, I don't sympathize with it at all."

"You can't say that," Shinji put away the Harpe and shook his head, "Even if they know that life will eventually end in death, living beings still feel fear. This is an unavoidable instinct of life. The shorter the life, the closer it is to death, and the more fearful it becomes. The reason I work so hard on the Third Magic is largely because of my fear of death."

"That's why I can never understand humans."

"I can't fully understand the thoughts of the immortals either. Take it slowly; there's still a lot of time. But before that, I need to clean up this mess. Although the Night of Walachia has ended, TATARI hasn't completely dissipated and might be used to cause another round of anomalies."

According to memories from a past life, Melty Blood is a series, and the chaos caused by the Night of Walachia was just the first installment, the No Subtitle chapter. The sequels happened because others used TATARI. The most memorable one for Shinji was Dust of Osiris.

After the Night of Walachia dissipated, Sion inherited the seat of the Thirteenth Ancestor, stronger than the Night of Walachia. She could mass-produce the Philosopher's Stone using human blood and attempted to initiate a grand forbidden spell to seal reality into fantasy, a world where the end was altered to complete the fantasy.

The scale of the anomalies was larger, involving more people, making the game more interesting. But games are games; reality is another matter. The actions of Dust of Osiris(Sion) were too dangerous, and Shinji had to eliminate this threat.

"Sorry, Arcueid, but I'll have to use powers that may discomfort you."

He had long prepared the method of elimination—a golden divine spear over three meters long with a blade length of one meter, the Immortal Blade. This is the famous Brahmastra from Indian mythology, containing the purest solar power. In a sense, it's a more effective weapon against the Dead Apostles than the Harpe and Shinji's secret trump card. Due to its overwhelming presence and power, Shinji would only use it when he was sure it could destroy the Night of Walachia in one blow.

Now is the time.

"With the flames of the sun, dispel darkness and falsehood!"

Shinji injected all his magic power into the spear, forcefully stamping his feet on the ground, and leaped high.

In the next second, the golden spear, dyed red, blossomed with an avalanche of brilliance, striking Zephia's final existence.

"Brahmastra Kundala: O' Brahma, Curse Me!"

The sun.

An indispensable entity for the entire planet, providing heat and life, symbolizing hope and life, and also representing power and destruction.

It gives humans the hope of life and delivers death to vampires who defy natural laws.

The stream of light surged.

The solar flames swept.

The power of Brahma's noble phantasm and Karna's life were unleashed, transforming into the solar power that incinerates all things, radiating outward in a circle, engulfing the upper floors of the Temple building, the blood-covered ground, and the night darkness.

As the reinforced concrete continued to evaporate, the last existence of the Night of Walachia was fully exposed to the scorching impact, screaming in terror—as Shinji said, life fears death, an instinct that can never be erased.

The sea of blood was continuously burned. Just before the central, solid part of the sea of blood was about to be completely evaporated by the solar flames, Zepia's eyes, not yet melted, regained clarity once more.

"…Oh… Oh…"

What a dazzling light, it had been a long time since he had seen such brilliance.

In the past, he often basked in such light, reading, studying, or simply resting.

The memories were so vivid and strong, pulling Zepia back to the days long gone.

Since when had he given up this everyday experience that every human has?

Ah, it was when he inherited the name Eltnam and glimpsed that lifeless land.

It was a miserable sight, the planet on the brink of death, a powerful, indescribable being descending from the sky, wantonly destroying everything on this planet.

To change this outcome, he kept challenging, kept calculating.

With changes in abilities and methods, the simulated scenes indeed changed. But those changes were insignificant; the planet's death outcome remained unchanged, and humanity's end remained unchanged.

At some point, he concluded that the Earth had no future, and humanity had no future.

Perhaps only a miracle could change it, but the known Five Great Magics had already been included in the calculations. A new miracle, a completely new magic, was needed for this.

Who decided there are only five magics? Even the magicians themselves haven't concluded that so what do the conclusions of others matter?

As long as there is the slightest possibility, I will strive for it. The name Eltnam is all about making the impossible possible.

No one has achieved it? I will achieve it!

No one has proven it? I will prove it!

I will use all available resources, and leverage all attainable powers, even if it means breaking taboos and being shunned by the world. Perhaps those mad predecessors thought the same way.

Unfortunately, after pouring all my strength and efforts into countless schemes, it all turned out to be nothing but an illusion.

"It's over, it's all over."

In the final simulation before the end, the scene I saw was still that miserable sight.

"My future, humanity's future, the planet's future..."

Once the simulation program starts, it won't stop. Zepia could only force himself to watch this scene that he had seen countless times.

Desolation! Desolation! Desolation!

Death! Death! Death!

The end! The end! The end!

No change! No change! No change!

No matter how much I complain or lament, the scene plays out according to the set program, replaying over and over.

Until the very end, it disintegrates into countless fragments, drifting into the unknown distance.

Wait! That is—

At the last moment, within one of the extremely tiny fragments among the countless pieces, Zepia saw something different.

There was refreshing greenery, warm sunlight, and humans who had not perished. At the edge of the fragment, figures were advancing one after another.

They might not be tall or grand, perhaps not even alive, but they all had an indomitable spirit, challenging destruction.

"Ah! I see it! I see it!"

A sigh. It was something unseen in countless calculations, and compared to the whole planet, a fragment is incredibly small, but it brought Zepia a new meaning—its name is hope.

"A different future! The thing I have longed for."

So, I did take the wrong path? But, it's not too late...

The last remaining eyes shed two lines of tears, something incompatible with blood and vampires.

The flames of the sun finally arrived, taking his last existence to the other side.