The unfamiliar broadcast's content swept through Alaric's mind. Rising slowly, Alaric did not look around but instead gazed intently at the ground beneath.
Was it even appropriate to call it "ground"?
Was it truly the ground?
Why was it humanoid in shape?
Yes, humanoid.
Even while standing on it, and barely able to glimpse just a fragment of the land, Alaric could still determine that the thing beneath him existed in the form of a human woman.
A strange thought surfaced, but Alaric could not provide an answer.
Without delving too deeply into the question, Alaric, feeling a headache, clutched his head and randomly picked a direction to move forward.
Strangely enough, despite having grown to such heights and realms, Alaric rarely experienced such inexplicable pain, yet it had appeared this time.
He could neither identify the cause nor repair the affliction.
Was it a mental attack? Or some other interference?
Unable to discern its origin, Alaric had no choice but to set the matter aside temporarily. For the time being, the pain was still within a tolerable range, and the city before his eyes was far more pressing.
The earlier broadcast had been heard by Alaric:
[Spiritron Fictional World - SERIAL PHANTASM]
Alaric was aware of this entity. It was a Spiritron Fictional World constructed within the Mooncell.
The Mooncell, having expanded to a massive scale, had created the Lunar City-Type Engine to ensure its smooth operation. Simply put, it was an additional engine, an added layer to the Mooncell.
From a human perspective, the Mooncell's network could only be recognized as light. However, for magi capable of converting souls into spiritrons, it could be identified as information and participated in as a unit.
The Holy Grail War of the Moon initiated to understand humanity was also conducted using SE.RA.PH.
SE.RA.PH was scattered throughout the Mooncell, including certain abandoned yet still intact domains from the older iterations. The birth of the new SE.RA.PH caused these scattered domains to merge, repeatedly clashing while attempting to become a vast open world.
But this place, though it was SE.RA.PH, was not entirely SE.RA.PH.
Would it be more appropriate to call it a forgery?
Its scale and scope were far inferior to the original SE.RA.PH. It was merely an SE.RA.PH expanded from the offshore oil base Seraphix.
As for the Mooncell usage rights mentioned in the broadcast, while Alaric had his concerns, that was all.
In most Holy Grail Wars, the Holy Grail, the ultimate prize, referred to as a wish-granting device capable of realizing any desire. However, the Moon's Holy Grail War, it referred to the usage rights of the Mooncell.
The Mooncell, to conduct complete observation, had to record countless "what-ifs." The computation device placed on the Moon was constructed for this purpose.
With its vast computational ability, the Mooncell could predict all past events and foresee the future. Its core stored everything about that future foresight.
Within it existed everything humanity could dream of—all possible wishes.
The demon envisioned by Laplace, capable of understanding all phenomena and knowing the future, resided on the Moon.
For the Mooncell, which managed and browsed Earth's immense simulation records, there would certainly exist the future Earth you desire.
If someone were to gain control of the Mooncell, all they would have to do is speak their wish to it.
The Mooncell would then rapidly compute Earth's trajectory toward that desired form.
The methods and practical means to reach that goal? The Mooncell would have already woven them into its calculations.
For example, if the wish were something like "Make all human girls on Earth my little sisters," it would likely only take about ten years to develop Earth into such a societal structure.
Alternatively, it could create a device to make this dream "visible in reality", guiding the entire Earth toward such a direction.
As long as the wish was within the realm of human imagination, no wish could not be fulfilled. No matter how fantastical or fairy-tale-like, there exist means to experience it.
Perhaps this was the true omnipotent wish-granting device—
However, disregarding the Mooncell's power, Alaric did not believe that a war taking place on an offshore oil base could secure the Mooncell's usage rights.
In conclusion, this was a place filled with countless mysteries.
Who knew how much time had passed? Half an hour, perhaps?
Having encountered neither people nor events, Alaric continued forward along the straight path. As the view opened up, he saw bloodstained iron stakes.
And a man clad in armor.
That man was someone Alaric was all too familiar with, a figure he had already encountered twice before.
"Vlad III."
Clutching his head, Alaric uttered the man's true name. The man, identical to the Lancer Vlad III who appeared in the Sixth Singularity, turned his gaze toward Alaric.
The blood-soaked ground and the presence of iron stakes declared the brutal nature of the battle that had taken place here. Countless lives had perished at this man's hands.
"Hah, what a surprise. A Master, still alive? Unacceptable. I cannot allow it."
The ferocious Vlad III charged at Alaric, his face twisted with savagery, laughing maniacally:
"Who would have thought a human still lives in this land of betrayal? I must kill you. I must end your life. I must show you the true love of a god!"
Unlike the bloodthirsty beast charging at him, Alaric simply drew his sword.
A cold gleam of the blade cut through the air, emitting a clear ring.
The battle ended quickly. From the moment the duel began, it was destined that only one of them would survive.
And that person was, without a doubt, Alaric.
With one swift strike, Alaric beheaded Vlad III. The headless body collapsed, pierced through by the very iron stakes it had summoned.
Yet none of this captured Alaric's attention.
After dealing with Vlad III, Alaric turned his focus to the church at the end of the path.
Unlike the computerized structures he had seen along the way, this church retained its original, traditional appearance.
Without hesitation, Alaric naturally stepped into the church.
The silent church held no other humans—not even AI or NPCs. It was empty.
The crisp sound of footsteps echoed through the church, announcing someone's arrival.
The headache grew worse as Alaric aimlessly wandered around the church, as though he were trying to remember something he had forgotten.
Clink, clink.
Until his foot stepped on something resembling shards of glass, the strange sound brought Alaric's consciousness back.
Shaking his head, Alaric looked down at the fragments on the ground. They were unrecognizable, as though they were the remains of a shattered glass object.
These were remnants left behind by the self-destruction of ■■■, the final proof of its existence.
Kneeling slowly, Alaric extended his hand. The fingertips emitted an aurora that embraced the fragments within the gaps of time.
The absolute authority, encompassing matters of intelligence, is an existence that undergoes constant revision.
The continuation of the self—
Its name is—[Nega Existence].
Although Alaric was unclear about the reason behind his actions, he still trusted himself more.
When that trace of residue disappeared, the staggering Alaric collapsed onto a church pew, unable to resist the wave of exhaustion surging from the depths of his mind, as if decades had caught up with him in that very moment.
Unable to suppress this weariness, Alaric fell into sleep, completely unaware of the nameless executor standing before him.
The executor, holding a pistol, stared deeply at the man who had fallen asleep on the pew. If it became necessary to pull the trigger, he would not hesitate.
But—
"Consider yourself lucky."
The executor lowered his hand and sat on a pew not far from Alaric.