Magician in Type-Moon

Page 593

"...It's amazing you were able to uncover the truth." His tone carried a hint of self-deprecation. "Kuro Adashino = Dr. Hartless."

He smiled slightly, a dark glint in his eyes, "A formula is completed here, as if it were a predetermined circle from a distant past."

Matou Ike did not respond immediately, but instead looked at him quietly, his eyes revealing a hint of contemplation.

"Time travel is the realm of 'magic.' Although it cannot be achieved with our magic, it does exist as a mystery."

He nodded slightly. "Among the five major 'magic' arts, there is indeed magic that can achieve this effect."

“Hmm.” Hartres seemed hesitant for a moment, but quickly spoke up, “Isn’t that just a replay of the past?”

Matou Ike raised an eyebrow slightly, indicating her agreement: "Yes. The recurrence of the past is almost like a cyclical history."

However, Matou Ike did not stop; he continued:

"However, I saw a possibility in that process. Because in that reenactment, I found traces of several other studies on your paper, besides the spell that brought the god Ikenda back to life."

His eyes sharpened slightly. "Unfortunately, it wasn't until I entered this labyrinth that I realized the true meaning behind all of this."

Hartres remained silent for a moment, seemingly pondering the deeper meaning behind Matouchi's words.

Then, a calm smile appeared on his face, as if he had foreseen this problem.

“…I see.” His tone was flat, with a hint of coldness.

"Actually, I gave up that research a long time ago. Traveling through time by observing the past and performing a reverse summoning of spirit particles is theoretically feasible."

He gently spread his hands, his eyes vacant.

"However, in order to keep the time travel stable, at least the Atlas Institute needs to provide full assistance, as well as the secret techniques of the Clock Tower's prestigious lineage. Hehehe, just this condition alone is almost impossible to achieve."

He paused, a meaningful glint flashing in his eyes:

"Furthermore, the astronomical costs required to build new facilities and conduct experiments are goals that can only be achieved by winning the Holy Grail War. And even if all that is done, there probably won't be many humans with the ability to travel through time."

Matou Ike's eyes did not waver; he listened carefully to every word Hartres said.

Hartres's words carried a calm rationality, as if he had already foreseen this historical development.

Every word he uttered would surely sound earth-shattering to a true magician.

"Ike Matou asked softly."

"So, you transferred this research?"

Chapter 627 Hartres's Backup Plan (4k)

"Your trump card..." Matou Ike's gaze, like tempered iron, locked onto Heartless, each word carrying a chilling penetrating power, "...is it the 'Lossbelt'?"

Hartres' smile remained unwavering, but a barely perceptible ripple flickered in his eyes behind his glasses.

He maintained his composure and countered with, "Oh? Why would you come to such a conclusion?"

“This is not just a rumor.” Matou Ike’s voice was calm.

"I once had a fleeting encounter with some projection of Iskandar in the phantom of that lost temple of knowledge—the Great Library of Alexandria. At that time, he gave me a... profound warning."

"Is that so?" Hartres raised an eyebrow, his usual smile finally revealing a hint of genuine curiosity.

"So, what message did that King of Conquest convey to you?"

“He made me…” Matou Ike clearly uttered that name, which carried immense weight even in the Age of Gods.

"...Beware of Zeus."

"Beware of Zeus?" Hartres's smile seemed to deepen slightly, but the smile didn't reach his eyes.

"What does this have to do with me, or rather, with the Lostbelts?"

"A connection?" Matou Ike's voice suddenly turned cold, like an undercurrent beneath the ice.

"Let me explain the core of your 'deification' ritual."

He pressed on relentlessly, his logic sharp and incisive:

"The key step you took to elevate the 'Impersonator' to godhood was through its 'spiritual origin phantom' undergoing a rebirth, and then using Iskandar's 'true name' as a key to forcibly communicate with the Throne of Heroes where it resides, thus serving as the anchor and channel for divine ascension. Am I right?"

"Completely correct."

Hartley readily acknowledged, but did not deny, this core mechanism.

"And the problem lies precisely in this seemingly perfect logic!" Matou Ike's eyes were as sharp as a hawk's.

"Iskander, he himself is a 'demigod' with divine blood flowing through his veins, and his legends and bloodline are deeply imprinted with the illustrious title of 'Son of Zeus'! You have cleverly utilized these symbolic connections closely related to the Olympian king of gods, 'Zeus'—"

He paused for a moment, letting the weight of his words sink in:

"—Furthermore, Iskandar's immense 'fame' that has swept through human history over the past two thousand years has actually served as fuel for a vast, undirected foundation of 'faith'..."

Ultimately, it was then possible to forcibly infuse and graft the divine authority that rightfully belonged to Zeus into your 'imposter', allowing him to complete that usurped ascension.

Hartres nodded slightly, a hint of interest curving his lips, as if he were watching a wonderful magic show.

He did not directly respond to Matouike's analysis of Zeus and divinity, but instead gestured for him to continue with his eyes:

"A unique insight. So, what about the subsequent derivation?"

However, Matou Ike did not follow the logical path he had set out to delve deeper. Instead, like a chess player, he calmly placed his pieces in another area of ​​the chessboard.

His voice was steady, carrying a pure sense of inquiry:

"In fact, among the twelve monarchs of the Clock Tower, the one whose actions are most closely intertwined with yours and whose level of cooperation is the deepest should be that monarch in charge of astrophysics—Marisbury Animusfia, right?"

This problem is like a pebble thrown into calm water.

Hartres' smile remained, but his gaze seemed to freeze for a moment, falling into a brief, meaningful silence.

Matou Ike did not wait for a response, as if she had already anticipated this silence.

He continued in an analytical tone, clearly and logically presenting his long-held observations and doubts:

"I have been trying to analyze this astronomical monarch and what ultimate goal is hidden behind his actions over the course of decades."

He paused briefly, then raised a key point:

"What's even more puzzling is that he was secretly 'placed under house arrest' by the Clock Tower's higher-ups at one point—this is no ordinary event. For a monarch to be restricted in his movements, there must have been some insurmountable bottom line or taboo involved."

He then pointed out the more crucial anomaly:

"However, this monarch, who was under close 'guards,' completely 'disappeared' from the Mage's Association's most stringent surveillance network in an almost impossible way. This was by no means a simple escape, but more like a carefully planned 'evaporation' that was very likely tacitly approved or even assisted by the insiders."

Finally, he confronted the most impactful fact:

"And more importantly, his whereabouts after his 'disappearance'—he successfully carried out an operation in Morocco, avoiding everyone's eyes and ears, that was enough to shake the foundations of the world: forcibly opening a stable passage to a certain 'Loserbelt'! And that Lostbelt should be related to Greece, right?"

Hartres's voice was steady, stating an established fact:

"The relationship between Lostbelts is essentially one of competition and exclusion."

"This basic understanding is self-evident and requires no further explanation from you."

Matou Ike nodded slightly, a faint smile playing on his lips, almost like the confirmation he made while analyzing data.

He then cut to the heart of the matter, his tone as clear as if he were explaining a complex magic model:

"Based on existing intelligence and deductions about the ritual structure, my previous assumption was:"

You intend to establish a deep connection between the 'God Iskandar' and the Greek Lostbelt. Using this meticulously crafted 'godhood' ritual as leverage, you will continuously exert upward influence, with the ultimate goal of seizing—or more likely, 'merging'—the colossal body of the 'Machine God Zeus' at the pinnacle of the Lostbelt.

His gaze calmly settled on Hartres, and he continued to elaborate on the conclusion of his reasoning:

"Once successful, you will be able to forcefully merge the immense power of the entire Greek Lostbelt with the real world. This power from the Lostbelt, capable of overturning the laws of physics, will become your ultimate weapon to fight against and even destroy the foundation of the entire Mage's Association. This is the most logical path."

Immediately afterwards, Matou Ike changed the subject and raised a core question based on risk management:

"However, any fusion operation involving higher levels of consciousness carries a risk that increases exponentially. In your model, has the critical variable of 'failure' been adequately calculated?"

He pinpointed the most deadly potential risk:

"If the fusion process goes wrong, and the one that ultimately dominates the consciousness is not your 'God Iskandar,' but rather the 'Machine God Zeus' who possesses overwhelming size, will, and divine essence..."

Isn't your meticulously crafted plan tantamount to personally opening the 'door' for this supreme god-king of the Lostbelt to descend upon and rule this world?

Hartres suddenly let out a low, pleasant laugh, a laugh tinged with a satisfied sense of knowing a secret:

"So, do you remember the special 'state' you had during your final battle against Iskandar, the King of Conquerors, at the end of the Fourth Holy Grail War?"

Matou Ike's mind, like a high-speed, precision instrument, instantly retrieved that crucial memory data:

"You mean... the state in which the Conqueror King was ultimately deeply corrupted by 'Zeus's divinity,' almost to the point of possession?"

He paused slightly, as if a blocked logical node had suddenly been cleared.

He then gave a symbolic high-five, his voice conveying pure admiration for the ingenious design:

"I see! It seems the title of 'child prodigy' should perhaps be more fitting for you—Lord Hartres!"

In an instant, all the clues perfectly aligned in Matouike's mind, revealing the source of Hartres's absolute confidence.

As a secret observer of the Fourth Holy Grail War from beginning to end, Hartres witnessed the entire process.

He understood a core fact better than anyone else:

The world, which was originally a "singularity," has finally solidified into a branch of a "Lossbelt." The most fundamental turning point for this was the Fourth Holy Grail War!

Therefore, the events that occurred and the outcome of this war became the decisive record defining the "foundation of existence" and "core rules" of this Lostbelt.

At the bottom of the rules of this Lostbelt, shaped by the Holy Grail War.

That historical account—that "Iskander the Conqueror's spirit origin was deeply corrupted and merged with the divinity of Zeus, the Olympian king of the gods, during the final battle"—was elevated by the world itself to a conceptual constraint with coercive power.

"Within this Lostbelt, if the divinity of Zeus were to merge with the existence of Iskandar the Conqueror, the will of both would inevitably lean towards Iskandar!"

However, the brilliance of Hartres's strategy goes far beyond that.

He understood an even more crucial and operational core rule:

No matter how powerful the merged entity may be, as long as its foundation remains defined as "Servant"—

Therefore, He must be absolutely bound by the Command Spell system!

The double insurance mechanism is thus established:

Conceptual constraints guarantee the dominance of will: the dominant will of the world rule-forced fusion body is Iskandar, the "god" sublimated from the "imposter" of Hatres.

The Command Seals system guarantees ultimate control: As the foundation of Servants, their actions are ultimately subject to the Command Seals commands of their Master—Hatres and his network of gold holders.