Upon returning to Olympus, the first thing I see is Wodine sitting in his office, his body covered in bandages, surrounded by the Dioscuri twins.
"Some Servant you are—you couldn't even protect the Master," Castor remarked, attempting to insult me, but I chose to ignore him.
"Chaldea and the others will likely arrive at Olympus sometime between today and tomorrow. What shall we do?" I asked, addressing Kirschtaria directly.
"We'll deal with that later," he replied, standing up and putting on his coat. "Once they're on Olympus, it falls entirely under the jurisdiction of the Olympians to decide how to handle the intruders."
I nodded and turned to leave, but his voice stopped me.
"They may wish to handle these threats themselves, but I expect you to keep your word and take action should you happen to cross paths with them," he said—more of a warning than anything else.
I simply nodded in acknowledgment of his reminder and left the room.
...
"That's how it is," I said, keeping it simple for Europa and Kiss-shot, who were waiting in the field of flowers for the arrival of the Chaldeans.
"So, when they reach Olympus, are you going to go after them?" Europa asked, trying to grasp what I intended to do.
"No," I replied, leaving her a bit puzzled. "I gave my word that I would attack them if I saw them—but if I don't see them, I have no reason to attack."
She listened to my explanation and understood immediately.
"I see; that makes sense," she nodded, then fixed her gaze on me. "But doesn't that go against your duties as a Servant?"
"I follow my Master's orders. If I'm not asked to pursue them, I have no reason to do so," I explained. "Besides, if I were to eliminate them, that would be quite bad for you, wouldn't it?"
At my question, Europa simply sighed. She started to say something, but a loud crash of thunder echoed across the area.
"Lightning?" Kiss-shot asked from beneath her parasol.
"It must be Chaldea," I stated, as several more peals of thunder followed. "They must have arrived."
Just as I reached that conclusion, I saw Castor and Pollux walking slowly toward us.
"Father has sent for the gods to assemble," the younger sister exclaimed. It sounded like a general announcement, but the use of the word "gods"—combined with the fact that she was looking directly at Europa—made it clear who she was addressing.
"Understood," said the one who held the remnants of Hera, rising to her feet. "Time to get back to work." With that, she began walking toward the throne and the gods' meeting chamber.
"Aren't you two coming?" Castor asked, looking at me and Kiss-shot. "There's no need; I can already imagine what will happen, and besides, it wouldn't contribute anything. I'm better off staying here," I explained, to which the blond god nodded.
"Better that way—it helps you recognize your place, beneath the gods," he exclaimed, before turning away to follow the two women.
At his words, I simply offered a gesture of indifference and sat back down where I had been before—next to Europa.
"Do you think it will happen?" Kiss-shot asked me.
"Who knows? Perhaps everything will follow its usual course—though there's also the possibility that everything might change. The initial circumstances aren't the same as they were before," I replied.
"Are you referring to Libra?" she questioned, and I nodded.
"But that's not the point; I just didn't know that Europa actually worked," I exclaimed, sounding surprised.
At my remark, Kiss-shot—looking somewhat annoyed—struck me, causing me to wince.
"It's no wonder you've never seen her work; you're hardly ever here," she said, sounding a bit irritated. "Besides, you always show up when you know she's free."
"Really? "I asked, not recalling that at all.
...
After quite a bit of chaos and destruction in the city of Olympus, I simply stayed in my room, sleeping.
What else was I supposed to do? If I went outside, there was a good chance I'd run straight into Libra—or someone else—and be forced to try and kill them, so I decided to just stay put.
But my peace and quiet didn't last long.
"Dante," I heard Kirschtaria say as he entered my room.
"You could have knocked," I complained—a remark my master promptly ignored.
"This is no time for jokes. We all need to gather—are you coming?" Wodine stated.
"Why?" I asked.
"Demeter has been killed by the heroes and Chaldea," he explained.
I opened my mouth to speak, then closed it again.
"I see you aren't surprised," Kirschtaria remarked, fixing his gaze upon me.
"At this point in the story, killing a god isn't exactly shocking," I countered, getting out of bed. "Back in the Hindu Lostbelt, there were gods too—and they were defeated. It was the gods' own blinded pride that made them believe any single one of them could stop the intruders."
Wodine said nothing, so I walked past him and headed toward Olympia Donata—the place where the gods convene—with my master following close behind.
...
The encounter played out much like it did in the original canon. Aphrodite was sent to eliminate the invaders, but knowing what was to come, I decided to witness it firsthand this time.
"You're just going to watch, without taking part?" Kiss-Shot asked from within my shadow.
"The contract I signed—the one with the fine print—only takes effect if I'm face-to-face with them," I replied, not lowering the long-range viewing device I was using to observe the battle from afar.
"You never actually signed a contract," she countered.
"Then I was never under any obligation to fulfill anything," I declared, watching what looked like a mecha—yet another one. Since I don't have one of my own yet, I was just observing this one. "In the next world we finish, I'm going to build a giant mecha, even if it takes me centuries."
I felt Kiss-Shot's mental acknowledgment.
"But you gave your word! How is anyone supposed to trust you if you don't follow through on what you say?" the vampire complained.
"I never said I wouldn't go; I'm just waiting for things to calm down. Besides, it was already agreed that Aphrodite would handle this," I said, lowering the binoculars. "Besides, do you really want me to go in there and kill them all?"
I received no answer to my question; we both knew exactly what would happen if Chaldea failed to bring down the Fantasy Tree.
The battle was unfolding almost exactly as it did in the canon, with neither Libra nor Orion doing much of anything.
"What are you thinking about?" Kiss-Shot asked.
"About their lack of action—though, looking at it a certain way, it actually makes some sense," I replied.
"What do you mean?" my wife questioned. "When they fought Kirschtaria, they all ended up in a truly dire state. Very little time has passed since then, and they haven't fully recovered—meaning they can't exert their full strength right now. Not to mention, there's no telling what they might face next; conserving magical energy in case Wodine—or even Zeus himself—reappears is only logical," I explained.
My Master hasn't fully regained his memories yet, and Zeus is occupied with various matters, so it's highly unlikely they'll show up. They didn't appear in the original canon, and they certainly won't appear now.
"Oh," he remarked, watching as Aphrodite was defeated, "I suppose it's time for us to move."
I headed toward the scene of the chaos, moving at a slow trot—barely more than a walk.
Just as I arrived, Aphrodite—the mechanical Goddess of Love—exploded, leaving Zeus as the final Machine God of Olympus.
"You're late," Peperoncino said, glancing over. "It's been a while since I last saw Kirschtaria's first Servant."
"Since the first meeting of the Crypters—back when the Fantasy Trees were first planted," I acknowledged, scanning the area and realizing it was just the two of us. "It's quite a coincidence that you're here, at this very moment."
"I could say the same to you," he replied with a smile. "But it hardly matters now; there's not much left to do here, so I'm heading back."
Without waiting for me, he turned and began making his way back toward Olympia Donata.
I remained where I was, staring at the remnants of Aphrodite. For a fleeting moment, I considered gathering them—thinking of what I might be able to craft from them—but I quickly shook my head.
I never saw the other gods—or the machine I once used—while they were still 'alive,' so I felt no particular attachment to them. But the Goddess of Love... that's a different story.
"Let's see how this plays out," I muttered to myself, following in Peperoncino's footsteps.
...
"Father, let us handle them ourselves," Castor exclaimed to Zeus.
A few hours had already passed since the fall of Aphrodite, and intercepting the invaders had proven far more costly than it should have been.
Zeus simply stared at Olympus, his brow furrowed.
"Where is Europa?" he demanded.
At his question, no one knew what to say. She should have been there, but for some reason, she was not.
"When I went to look for her, she wasn't in the field of flowers," said Pollux, who was sitting not far from her brother.
The god of lightning instinctively looked in my direction.
I raised my hands in surrender.
"I have no idea. I'm not required to be there all the time—you know it's my wife who meets with your consort. Besides, with these 'machine gods' falling so easily, I have to be prepared for battle. I haven't seen her since before Demeter fell."
What I said was essentially the truth—except for the part about not knowing where Europa was. I knew exactly where she was and what she was doing, but I wasn't about to say it.
"I know where she is," a voice called out nearby.
As I turned, I immediately recognized the speaker—a Servant I had once encountered during an old Holy Grail War.
Even though he had been crushed by the monkey's adaptable spike—and we had never actually fought—I knew for a fact that he had been a participant in that Holy Grail War.
Ashiya Douman—known for the time being as Limbo—appeared, wearing a diabolical grin.
"You know where Europa is?" Zeus asked, radiating a massive surge of divine power.
"Indeed. She is with the Chaldeans." His answer made some of them go cold, while I simply frowned.
"Darling," Kiss-shot whispered in my mind.
"Don't worry, this is something I had already foreseen," he said, reassuring her while observing the interaction between them.
"How do you know this?" the machine god asked again.
"Because of this," he replied, pointing to a magical thread connected to Europa. "I can guide them to where she is."
"Father, let us go—and while we're at it, we'll eliminate the insurgents," Castor exclaimed, with a bit more insistence.
"Very well. You two shall eliminate the invaders, while you," Zeus said, looking toward the other, "will bring Europa back." Limbo nodded in response, feigning a sense of devotion.
"If I may," Wodine spoke up—the first time he had joined the conversation—drawing everyone's attention. "There are several Servants among them, including a formidable Archer. It might not be enough; it would be best if Dante went along as well."
At those words, I—who had been watching the whole scene with great reluctance and boredom—opened my eyes in surprise.
"Me?" I asked, pointing at myself.
"We don't need someone like him," Castor complained, and Pollux nodded in agreement.
"I concur with my brother," he added.
Zeus looked at Wodine.
"Very well." As soon as he said that, the older brother started to speak, but, clearly frustrated, he held his tongue—glaring as if the worst sin in the world had just been committed—while I simply stood there, wondering what I should do now.
...
While waiting outside for the whole situation to unfold, I remained prepared to act by surprise.
"I need you to change my class," I asked Kiss-shot, crouching down.
"To which class?" She didn't ask why; she simply asked which class I wanted.
"Change me to the Avenger class," I requested.
"Understood," she replied, her hand emerging from my shadow and piercing through my chest.
I immediately spat out a large amount of blood as I felt Kiss-Shot grasp my Saint Graph. Using magic—along with a limited degree of control over the Third Magic—she shifted my class from Assassin to Avenger.
The moment she withdrew her hand from my chest, I activated my own magic to begin healing.
"You don't need to..." my wife began, but an explosion erupted near the Chaldean guards.
"No time," I said, summoning the Buster Sword and using *soru* to dash across the area.
I saw Douma seize Europa and flee; I would deal with that later—my priority lay elsewhere.
The instant I spotted Libra, I lunged without a second thought. Unexpectedly, a knight wielding a sword intercepted me, while a man—whose attire I still can't fathom, as he dressed like someone from the age of the dinosaurs—pushed me out of the room.
"So, you were expecting me? Not bad," I remarked, stumbling back several paces from the shove.
Elsewhere, the battle raged on, but as fate would have it, my opponents for this engagement were already set.
Orion and Gaheris.
"Let's see how long you can hold out," I taunted. There was no room for pretense now; had I been facing Libra, I might have been able to feign hesitation out of sentimentality—but with these two, that wasn't an option.