Chapter 14 Ah, It Seems I Can Go Back?
"It seems you all are employing a strategy of splitting into two groups. Did you tell them where to investigate?"
One could read from the tone that the gaze of Flat, currently flying in the air, seemed to be fixed intently on the police bureau's second detachment.
In reality, it was not a strategy of splitting into two groups; they had simply been short on time and hadn't managed to assemble. However, it was understandable that Flat would think so.
Flat had only started the telepathic call after seeing Shirou and the others already departing from "Crystal Hill," so naturally, he would not know Shirou's intentions or the result of his communication with the police bureau. Realizing this, Shirou coughed twice.
He needed to check the situation first.
It took two minutes to explain the events occurring around Shirou clearly. Flat was suddenly enlightened, nodding repeatedly like a little bird pecking at the ground.
Subsequently, he proactively offered, "Actually, I also have information I want to share!"
"I don't know if you've encountered a skeleton that looks like a high-rise building. I met it, and then I tried to interfere with it as usual. Unexpectedly, I made a discovery. That skeleton was created artificially and is connected to a certain existence. The convergence point of the mana on that end is at a position 132 units west and 53 units north from your perspective."
That position is...
"—The Kuruoka House."
Shirou answered for him, providing the already known correct answer. However, that was not the mansion Shirou had visited; it was the false Kuruoka House within the sealed miniature garden.
"Flat, our thoughts are much the same."
".........The Kuruoka House... I see. Tsubaki-chan is very pitiful, isn't she?"
Shirou hadn't gone into details, but Flat seemed to have completely understood the full picture of the matter, so he muttered as if talking to himself; the voice on the other end of the telepathy was clearly depressed. Then, the voice on the other side suddenly asked:
"Is Butler-kun's justice the same?"
His palms clenched unconsciously, and Shirou did not speak for a moment, so the person on the other side gave a silent, understanding quiet.
Just like facing a mirror, it would likely continue until Shirou provided an answer.
"It's fine. We are not enemies. I will definitely find a way to resolve this situation without killing her."
Just one second later, Shirou gave his answer.
".........Butler-kun's style hasn't changed at all since he was a boy. If Little Luviagelita were here, she would definitely find that very charming!"
He said it as if he had seen Shirou during his youth. However, if he actually had, Shirou would have felt a bit ashamed instead; there was nothing worth mentioning anyway, so let's not.
Shirou shook his head helplessly, stood up, and blended into the busy twenty-eight monsters, preparing to set off again.
"Regarding what kind of place the fake Snowfield City is, do you have any leads?" Shirou asked by the way.
"I haven't finished investigating, but I have some ideas. This world should be a Reality Marble. But its concept seems a bit special. In short, its division between 'inside' and 'outside' is clearer than other Reality Marbles. This barrier is a place that can only be established if it has a surface layer; in other words, reality is its surface layer. An existence where the front and back mirror each other... it's a bit like the 'Underworld'..."
"Stop for a second."
Sharply catching the familiar word, Shirou's voice changed, and he interrupted what he was saying.
"Wait a moment, you said it's a Reality Marble??"
"Yeah."
Flat said word for word: "Similar to the one you possess, Butler-kun."
The forge in his chest grew slightly hot. Shirou silently peered at the surrounding environment.
Man-made structures standing like a city model, barricades placed with the intention of facilitating human traffic, birds flying across the sky reflected by the steel jungle—there was absolutely no trace of abnormality.
The entire city is a Reality Marble? Replicating an entire city? If this statement were true—isn't this higher in scale and completion than [Child Star]?
[Child Star], the strongest Reality Marble Shirou had participated in confronting. Seizing a portion of the surface, creating a new planet—a fantasy of the creation of a planetary embryo. It was stopped by Shirou and the others; if it had been allowed to complete, a new planet should have appeared in the sky above, and the nation of Monaco would have been destroyed.
Preparation. Designation. Although in terms of mechanism, usage, and purpose, [Child Star] is undoubtedly more troublesome... but in the end, it was destroyed before it could be completed. Yet the place where Shirou was located had developed unnoticed until now—and had completely replicated an entire city of hundreds of thousands of people.
In terms of completed scale, it surpassed [Child Star].
Since the fake Snowfield City belongs to a Reality Marble, it can of course be countered with [Unlimited Blade Works]. But one must be prepared for the fact that this Reality Marble cannot be solved by the collision of [Unlimited Blade Works]. Although it is possible to forcibly replace a part of it with [Unlimited Blade Works], it can only last for a while; it would likely be swallowed by the massive world in no time.
The end result is not much different. However, the reason Shirou's voice changed was actually not because he was panicked, it was...
'Ah, it seems I can go back suddenly?'
The moment the nature of the information was elucidated, the meaning of this place—the fake Snowfield City—suddenly became different for Shirou. Perhaps everyone else remained firmly trapped in the center, unable to break free, but it was different for Shirou alone.
He had to thank the support on the other end of the telepathy. Flat provided the hint regarding magecraft theory, and Shirou actually possessed a Reality Marble.
This city could not erode the heat within Shirou's body. In the collision phenomenon of Reality Marbles, [Unlimited Blade Works] cannot suppress the Reality Marble of unknown name in return.
However, it can be deployed.
There is a chance to re-select a reference point when a Reality Marble is opened and closed, so one can, to a certain extent, determine the location where the people inside will land when the barrier is closed. Although this function is often used to make things appear in a designated place, but... making everyone in the Reality Marble appear on the "outside" called "reality" is also a kind of exit.
Actually, this idea is very extreme, because the so-called "certain extent" changes according to the situation, and it is impossible for it to go entirely according to one's wishes. However, according to Flat, the situation this time is that the actual "outside" of reality has become a point that has a connection with the Reality Marble, and the opponent's Reality Marble is also sharing the same reference point.
With the Reality Marble as a mirror, the coordinates of reality were clearer than ever before; Shirou even felt that he could lock onto them just by actually deploying it once.
That is to say... If he wanted to leave, it seemed he could leave right now. Shirou could even stop getting involved in this affair of the fake Snowfield City and go back to see them.
However... the girl who had never had anyone become her partner, the diary recording her encounters—it surfaced in Shirou's mind once again.
"Let's talk in a moment."
Leaving behind one message, Shirou temporarily cut off the telepathy.
Shirou, who had disengaged from the telepathic state, found John waiting for him to recover with a face full of nervousness; even the others had stopped what they were doing and were staring straight at him. Five minutes had already passed, yet they still didn't quite know what topics Shirou had discussed with whom.
"Mr. Shirou, who were you talking to just now?"
"I contacted your collaborator, Flat, and he told me some very important information," the red-haired young man informed them without concealment.
The red-haired young man spoke concisely:
"To sum up the conclusion, I can go back. And I can take you all back too."
"?"
Should they be happy? To sum up the conclusion, it seemed they should be happy; at the very least, they should show happiness to him at this time. However, they hadn't yet had time to be happy, because they were currently in a period of confusion.
What exactly did Shirou Emiya and Flat Escardos discuss in private?
Things shouldn't be like this, right? Shouldn't it be that we are trapped in the abnormal ability of an enemy Servant, unable to escape, unable to communicate with the outside world, and can only fight for our lives under the surveillance of the enemy Servant, resisting monsters, searching for clues, finding the key girl based on clues, solving her problems, and finally beating the enemy Servant into consciousness before it lets us go back?
What do you mean, "actually there is an exit, and we can go back at any time even if we do nothing"?
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