Chapter 547

【"Judging from the fact that Sister Ilumia's corpse was not nearby, she might not have died in the struggle, but in any case, she failed to stop the Skeleton King from coming into contact with the villagers. The rest of the truth is as I said before. Gray's mother committed suicide just before she turned into the body of the Skeleton King, and the Skeleton King was also affected by her death. That is all."】

【"She probably arrived earlier than the villagers, hid you nearby, and then acted and put on that mask. Although I don't know if that mask belonged to the Skeleton King or was a disguise she prepared in advance."】

【"Before taking action, your mother probably discussed some things with Bersac, which allowed him to successfully take you away while you were hidden."】

【"That said, judging from the situation, Bersac at the time probably didn't know the details either. The only thing she revealed was 'help me save Gray'."】

【"Mom, why did you do that..."】

【Gray lowered her head and cried, feeling her chest ache painfully.】

【Waver: "... Because she loved you, Gray."】

Irisviel: "Poor child, her freedom was bought by her mother with her life."

Shishigou Kairi: "She bore all the pain herself."

Amakusa Shirou: "This is maternal love, the greatest love."

Artoria: "..."

Kirei Kotomine: "May her soul rest in peace."

【Gray: "But I'm the only one who should have understood Mom's reasons..."】

【Waver: "... Because your mother could not let you discover the plan. Because as long as you discovered it, the villagers would immediately notice something wrong through your attitude, and depending on the situation, they might have snatched you away. Precisely because of this, your mother pretended to be the one who worshipped you most fervently in the whole village. She had to be the most fanatical believer in the village, so fanatical that even the old woman who served as the village chief didn't have a shred of suspicion. If she didn't do that, the Mystic Code that separates the spirit and soul from the body would not have been entrusted to her for safekeeping. So, we must know the reason. Otherwise, we will miss important things. This is the same for you, Zepia."】

【Zepia: "Oh, you want to say I have such a reason too?"】

【Waver: "Of course."】

【Zepia: "Then, based on what logic?"】

【Waver: "There is only one answer, the Atlas Contract."】

【"The seven contracts left by the Atlas Academy require the Atlas Academy to provide assistance based on the contracts signed. The only possibility that you would take such a roundabout and inefficient approach is to avoid violating this contract. If the contract has a certain purpose, then it is completely opposite to the roundabout approach. You just need to achieve it with the shortest distance and the fastest speed."】

【"If you just wanted to expel us, it wouldn't be difficult with the power of the Atlas Academy. But you didn't do that, which means you didn't want to be our enemy, but you were in a situation where you couldn't simply provide assistance..."】

【"So, after endless calculations, you induced us with minimal contact and conversation, making our actions coincidentally conform to your purpose."】

【Video paused.】

【Question: What is the reason for Zepia doing all this?】

Waver: "Finally getting to the point, but this question is not easy to answer."

Kayneth: "The clues that should have been given have already been given. The future you in the video should have already guessed it. The truth is about to be revealed."

Rin Tohsaka: "Is it because of the Atlas Contract? After all, this thing is always mentioned."

Amakusa Shirou: "No, didn't Waver just say that everything is exactly the opposite? Zepia chose such a roundabout way because he couldn't do something due to the contract."

Mordred: "Don't tell me we have to guess what the contract is before we can think of the answer."

Shishigou Kairi: "It seems I have to give up on this question. My brain cells are not enough."

Kayneth: "Hmm... Why did Zepia go to such great lengths to let the future Waver solve the mystery of that year..."

This question really stumped everyone in the group, and there was no conclusion for a long time.

"Kid Feng, do you have any clues?"

Iskandar asked Extra Feng Xi.

Extra Feng Xi smiled: "Didn't I say before, think boldly."

"In the previous second loop, the scene at the end was like a malfunction. So, can we boldly guess that the Logos React itself, which shaped that space, had a problem?"

Iskandar asked strangely: "Ah? Can that kind of fog weapon, which is said to be able to destroy the world, have a problem?"

Qin Shi Huang snorted: "Hmph, why not? After all, there is no such thing as perfect in the world."

Gilgamesh smiled: "Ha. This is interesting. If that kind of weapon really had a problem, the fun would be really big."

Extra Feng Xi: "Time is running out, so I will answer this question."

Extra Feng Xi: "The reason is that the Logos React malfunctioned, and Zepia could not intervene due to the contract, so he could only drag Waver and the others into it."

【Ding! Congratulations to Extra Feng Xi for answering this question correctly and receiving 3 Saint Quartz.】

Kayneth: "What! Malfunction!"

Waver: "I see. The static in the space before really looked like a TV malfunction."

Rin Tohsaka: "You're a bit of a backseat driver saying that now."

Waver: "After all, who would have thought that it was a top-tier creation of the Atlas Academy and would actually malfunction."

Kiritsugu Emiya: "As long as it is man-made, there will always be some problems. Perfect creations do not exist."

【Answering time is over, video continues.】

【Zepia: "Hmm, this can hardly be called reasoning. Stacking more inferences on top of inferences is not a good strategy. In terms of the script, the quality has slipped, hasn't it?"】

【Waver: "Unfortunately, I am not a detective. However, there is one piece of circumstantial evidence this time."】

【Zepia: "Circumstantial evidence?"】

【Waver: "I said it, didn't I? Whose grave is it? As for the answer, it has already been decided. As long as you think about when the space skipped static at the stage where someone's death was determined, the answer is obvious."】

【"That is the Skeleton King's grave, Gray's mother's grave, and the Logos React's grave."】

【"Ah, of course, the Logos React cannot die. A tool is a tool and has no life. Although there are religious customs related to animism in various places, such as tools that have been kept for a hundred years turning into monsters, and needing to burn such tools to avoid it, etc., that is different from what I am talking about now. Because it was the Logos React that reenacted the Skeleton King, right?"】

【"Even if Gray's mother and the Skeleton King became one, that didn't change. And the Skeleton King's death brought different information to the Logos React than usual."】

【"In short, the Logos React, which should not have died, received the message of 'death'. Because it is a tool, the Logos React should not have died. It died despite not being able to die. That contradiction caused an unbearable load on that weapon."】

【"From the human perspective, it used almost infinite computing power to find out the contradiction, and at the same time, even the computing power itself was continuously dying. What is waiting at the end?"】

【"That's right, when the Logos React malfunctions, what will happen?"】

【Gray: "Then, when we returned to the village, the reason everyone disappeared..."】

【Waver: "Assuming they were affected by the Logos React's malfunction is a reasonable explanation."】

【"So, that's why you were monitoring this village alone. No, maybe you were protecting the world alone."】

Kayneth: "It actually malfunctioned because of the contradiction caused by the question of death!"

Kayneth: "No, should I be glad? A weapon capable of destroying humanity malfunctioned, but the phenomenon was limited to the scope of one village. This is the only stroke of luck, right?"

Tokiomi Tohsaka: "Actually, this Atlas Academy director should have been able to solve this matter, but he couldn't intervene because of the contract."

Tokiomi Tohsaka: "Should I say, did the person who used the Atlas Contract anticipate that such a situation would happen?"

Kayneth: "Heartless..."

【Waver: "How about it? Since I have tracked it to this point, admitting my inference shouldn't be considered a violation of the contract, right?"】

【Zepia chuckled: "Very good, Lord El-Melloi II, you are really interesting."】

【"As you inferred, the Atlas Academy lent out the Logos React according to the contract. Until the contract period expires until King Arthur is resurrected, or the goal becomes impossible to achieve, we can monitor, but we cannot intervene, even if a malfunction occurs."】

【Gray: "Why do that? Monitoring the Logos React is not part of the contract, right?"】

【Zepia: "Your teacher said it, didn't he? Because that is the obligation of the Atlas Academy."】

【"We require ourselves to bear the obligation of maintaining humanity, letting humanity go as far as possible, and going as far as possible. The alchemists of this academy have been dedicating themselves to this goal for thousands of years."】

【"According to this situation, we can only intervene when we can judge that the contract cannot be achieved. Before that, let me think... about half of the land in Wales would face the same disaster."】

【"Accurately witnessing the arrival of that moment is the purpose of my monitoring."】

【Waver: "You mean, the Logos React should be destroyed?"】

【Zepia: "No, I didn't say that, and I don't have the right to say it in the contract. I am just confirming the obvious fact based on your inference, Monarch."】

【"Even if mere Wales disappears, it doesn't matter to me. Neither the human order nor the planet's order will act for that level of situation."】

【Zepia suddenly stopped talking and looked up at the sky, only to see a crack appear in the canopy with a 'snap'.】

【It was not that kind of static, but it was a sound of the same quality. However, why would that sound ring out in this space?】

【Zepia: "I am very sorry, I must warn you. The Logos React, which is still in a malfunction state, seems to be exerting interference to invade here from the other side."】 ===== CHAPTER 549 =====