The establishment of the Time Travelers Alliance began in the first year of Conan

Chapter 326 The Alliance has never encountered such a terrifying enemy...

It was as if nothing had ever happened.

Like a miracle of rebirth—

Those forests torn apart by lightning and shattered by wind pressure, collapsed hills and fragmented mountains...

Now, it flows in the direction of the past as the world moves.

Finally, the unnamed hill, with its original lush greenery, stood silently in its place.

The distant tornado, the magical fluctuations or scorching heat in the air, all transformed into the cold wind blowing away the snow in winter.

Those battles and clashes, both long and short, seemed like mere illusions of the world itself.

History paused briefly at that possible crossroads, but ultimately returned to its original course without any ripples.

Nothing left a trace in the world.

"You were incredibly swift in your attack."

Conan couldn't help but sigh softly.

The opponent's actions were clean, efficient, and frighteningly decisive.

He acted immediately the moment he tried to subtly hint at something to Gilgamesh.

Although I hate to say it, Conan did not consider Gilgamesh to be an enemy.

Even so, his actions of burning his [Spirit Origin] and forcibly pushing the [Omniscient and Omnipotent Star] to its limit brought him some surprises.

That was simply because Conan had some ideas about the "probing" of the mastermind.

After all, it was a discovery that even Gilgamesh found surprising and shocking.

For the Fourth Holy Grail War, the name "Sherlock Holmes" is far too overpowered, to the point that Conan could easily finish it in a single day.

But now, the detective stared at the mountains and fields that had returned to peace in the distance, his expression becoming unusually serious.

Conan knew very well what was going on.

The only true enemy the alliance has always feared is—

The person who once took action against Hasegawa Moon, Kanbuko City, and Misaki Town, and is now involved in the trajectory of the Hero King.

A person who took advantage of everyone.

"Fortunately, I didn't come away empty-handed," Conan thought to himself. "Now I can eliminate some options."

If Conan wasn't sure before...

So now, the Throne of Heroes and Gaia are probably no longer the ones who actively attacked the Alliance.

……

The radiance of the spirit particles concealed the small figure standing atop the mountain.

As his "timeline" shifted, the familiar figure reappeared in the center of the execution hall in the next instant.

Hasegawa Tsuki's fingers were still on reviewing the newly released documents.

—For example, the arrangement of Ilya's magic lessons.

This child, being a miniature version of the Holy Grail, can make anything she desires possible, even if she doesn't understand the process, as long as she has enough magic power.

In the Alliance base filled with CYZ effect radiation, she could easily have truly become the Holy Grail by exercising her power in an excessively extreme way.

To avoid the possibility that one day in the future, Ilya might suddenly turn into an inanimate object because of her "wish".

Hasegawa Tsuki is trying to teach that child to use magic only through a magic book.

Furthermore, try to impose appropriate self-discipline constraints on her, much like King Arthur's Holy Lance.

But now, upon seeing that familiar glow, she immediately stood up from her seat.

"Commander Kudo!"

Hasegawa Tsuki's tone was slightly nervous.

"Sakura Matou just sent me a training manual on psychology using her TDD method. I gave her permission before you left."

Conan glanced at the document title floating in front of him, then smiled encouragingly at Hasegawa Tsuki.

"Just do as you think, Moon. After all, you're a member of the executive committee now."

Hasegawa Tsuki seemed somewhat hesitant and unsure about Conan's bold delegation of authority.

Her eyes were slightly lowered, and her hands were unconsciously clasped together in front of her.

Seeing the slight lack of confidence in the girl's eyes, Conan paused briefly.

He encouraged them, saying, "It's okay if you make a mistake in the end, because people grow from mistakes."

"Moreover, the TDD side of the central control also has self-checks. If you really can't make up your mind, just ask me."

"Yes!" Hasegawa Tsuki's eyes showed a hint of emotion. She straightened her back and nodded vigorously.

"I will do my job well!"

To be honest, the scene looked a little strange and incongruous at first glance.

This tall, spirited young girl seemed to be greatly encouraged by a single sentence from the boy who was only waist-high to her.

However, considering that the child in front of him is actually named "Edogawa Conan," it seems to make some sense.

For Conan, perhaps the greatest advantage of being a Heroic Spirit is—

He no longer has to worry about the chair being too high.

……

As the magic surged, the detective floated up and then landed steadily back on the main seat of the conference table.

After Hasegawa Tsuki sat down again, Conan turned to look at her.

"Did you find anything over there with the [lens group]?"

“The situation remains the same,” Hasegawa Tsuki replied while operating the terminal, “There has been no RSI value fluctuation of more than ten units.”

She retrieved the recorded footage.

Immediately afterwards, the videos were automatically broken down into individual images by TDD and projected onto a circular interface in the center of the hall.

One of the paintings depicts the final confrontation between Conan and Gilgamesh—

That is, when Conan is about to tamper with the King of Heroes' [Spirit Origin].

"The moment he saw your true identity and the future you deliberately presented, his RSI value roughly rose to 119."

She paused for a moment, then gently tapped her fingertip, dragging aside the scene of Gilgamesh being reset.

"But after the reset, the value immediately returned to around 110."

Conan was not surprised by this result at all.

He simply nodded and continued to ask, "What about the RSI value and background value detected by the terminal?"

"Not much has changed."

Hasegawa Tsuki unfolded the data automatically recorded by the [Leap Terminal] during that period, displaying the information in the form of a timeline.

"As you predicted, Gaia does not seem to be able to distinguish well between you and Archer who caused the damage to itself."

"it is as expected……"

Conan subconsciously pushed up his glasses, and the lenses reflected a burst of white light from the sunlight streaming down from the sky above.

"From this perspective, the suspicion that Gaia is behind this is ruled out."

……

In fact, Gilgamesh's initiative to seek this out was entirely within the League's expectations.

This is not because the league has completely grasped his behavioral logic, but because of a more controllable and "predictable" factor.

——Tousaka Tokiomi.

Just like Gilgamesh's assessment of him.

This rigid magician is the manager of the Fuyuki City ley lines.

Whether it was based on the family motto of "maintaining elegance" or out of a sense of responsibility as a nobleman.

He would definitely ask his heroic spirit to investigate the matter after noticing the abnormality of the ley lines.

Therefore, the alliance deliberately left some traces near the Tohsaka mansion.

After that, things naturally progressed as planned.

Whether it's Gilgamesh's A-rank luck or the reconnaissance-type Noble Phantasms that are all available in the [King's Treasury], finding those clues is not difficult.

Therefore, such an arrogant and conceited king became a good "test target".

……

Have you made any new discoveries?

Conan did not immediately respond to Hasegawa Tsuki's question.

He first sent the command to the [Leap Terminal] to "suspend the theft of ley lines".

Then, explain why you did it.

"As it stands, our current mana supply is sufficient to sustain us through this Holy Grail War."

"If we continue to seize the ley lines, the [Suppression Force] may react even more violently."

This is clearly an unnecessary risk.

After closing the panel in front of him, Conan turned to look at Hasegawa Tsuki.

"In short, to be on the safe side, all we need to do now is record the precise coordinates and magic distribution of each ley line, and then on the last day of the war, we can harvest them all at once."

Hasegawa Tsuki's gaze followed Conan's and fell on the blue-glowing ley line model in the distance.

Hmm, it does seem like we went a bit too far.

Such a thought suddenly arose in the girl's mind.

The ley lines in Fuyuki City now look as if someone had dug a protective barrier around the entire city, displaying a lifeless, ashen appearance on the ley line map.

In fact, whether it is [Alaya] or [Gaia], it is not the same.

Both typically use an "equivalent contract" to grant individuals temporary miracles in order to eliminate threats.

For example, the future Red A was one of the guardians of Alaya, who was "deceived" into signing a contract and became a tool of Alaya after his death.

Or perhaps the progenitor or true progenitor of Gaia, who is currently on his way to the two Dead Apostles who will never reach Fuyuki City.

They were clearly there to curb this horrific human activity.

Conan's voice deepened.

"Moreover, although the [restraint] is passively triggered after a crisis occurs."

"But it will take actions that obliterate the source of the threat with absolute power far exceeding the target."

"A force absolutely capable of eliminating threats?"

"Yes, we are absolutely capable of defeating the enemy's power."

Conan nodded and projected the information about "restraint" from the database.

"Meteorite falls, volcanic eruptions, continental subsidence... these are all things that [Suppression Force] can do."

"That's why I had to personally appear as a Heroic Spirit to make Gaia aware of my existence."

—The alliance needs to mislead Gaia's judgment.

Conan paused, then countered with, "Moon, if you were Gaia, and you discovered an enemy that couldn't be dealt with without immediately destroying Fuyuki City and physically erasing the Holy Grail, what would you do?"

"Hmm... use a tsunami, an earthquake, or a meteorite?"

"Yes, just like the situation Gilgamesh faced upon landing."

"In Gaia's eyes, he and I are both heroic spirits belonging to the Alaya system."

"So what it should do is destroy the entire Fuyuki City immediately, just like it did just now."

……

"but--"

Hasegawa Tsuki frowned slightly, as if he had suddenly realized something.

She discovered a problem with this hypothesis.

"Wouldn't that contradict the principle of historical inertia?"

"exactly!"

Conan smiled almost the instant Hasegawa Tsuki finished speaking.

He clapped his hands lightly, revealing a hint of approval.

"And this is the 'tacit understanding' between us and the person behind the scenes."

Hasegawa Tsuki's eyes widened slightly, as if she hadn't fully understood yet.

But Conan didn't rush to explain—

The detective seemed to be immersed in confirming the truth of the mystery.

“I can now be certain,” he finally said, “that enemy lurking in the shadows is neither Gaia nor the Throne of Heroes.”

Conan jumped off the chair and began pacing back and forth in the center of the hall.

The voice of reasoning grew brighter and brighter as the light in his pupils increased.

"If Gaia is truly behind the scenes, or something on Gaia's side, it should have acted decisively earlier, instead of waiting until after the Hero King descended to unleash its thunder."

"Because given the knowledge that this world is to be 'cut', such a response is completely unnecessary."

Conan looked at the timeline in front of him and marked the illogical causal relationships in Gaia's reaction.

"Moreover, if Gaia knew some of the mechanisms of the Shell's operation, even if it was only partial... its most important task should have been to actively assist Gilgamesh in entering the observatory."

"Because as long as the mechanism of the [Shell] is completely triggered, the enemy will be completely wiped out. For the [Suppression Force] which is only for 'continuation', this is the most convenient and easy way to do it."

"At the same time, if Gaia breaks through its own character settings to fight against historical inertia, then the environmental RSI background value cannot remain unchanged."

The detective turned abruptly, his gaze fixed intently on another executive councilor.

"But—we didn't see anything unusual, did we?"

Hasegawa Tsuki suddenly realized what was happening.

Her pupils contracted slightly: "Wait! So... those lightning bolts were actually—!"

"Yes."

Conan calmly revealed the answer.

"Those lightning strikes were a carefully orchestrated misdirection."

"And if we really believe that Gaia is the real culprit behind all this..."

He narrowed his eyes slightly, a cold smile playing on his lips, and then spoke of that highly probable future:

"Then, the alliance will not only go astray from its plans, but it will also be hesitant and timid about any potential follow-up plans to enter the [Inner Sea of ​​Stars]."

"Then...where did those lightning bolts come from?"

"Moon, if that force can interfere across parallel worlds, doing so would probably be a piece of cake."

"As for the prophecy that the golden-haired guy saw..."

Conan shook his head with a slight chuckle.

If it weren't for the fact that I was often deceived by the Alliance using these "techniques" of concealing cause and effect and the future when I was in this universe, I would understand.

They might even think that it was truly the predetermined future.

His tone softened, "But a prophecy is a prophecy precisely because it hasn't happened yet, right?"

Seeing the puzzled look on Hasegawa Tsuki's face, Conan switched the camera to the scene where Gilgamesh was "reset," signaling her to notice this.

"Moon, don't you understand?"

Conan explained, "No matter how terrible the future is, it doesn't matter, as long as we erase the cause before that possible future arrives."

After Hasegawa Tsuki showed a look of realization, the detective continued.

"Similarly, our enemy will never be the Throne of Heroes, or even Alaya itself."

……

In fact, this is related to the "surprise" that Conan mentioned earlier.

In the initial deduction, Conan originally planned to use part of the CYZ effect after confirming Gaia's reaction mechanism to truly "rewind" Gilgamesh to three minutes earlier.

"Because I had TDD move the 'Horizon Probe' nearby before, I will use the probe to capture Archer after physically disarming him."

"In this way, under low RSI conditions, I can briefly manipulate the timeline internally to truly restore it."

Conan paused for a moment as he watched the projection of that guy burning his spirit origin and looking at him.

“But he burned his spirit origin.”

"In other words, if I 'help' him complete that missing part of his spirit origin—"

Hasegawa Tsuki immediately straightened up.

She knew that the Heroic Spirits located on the Throne of Heroes could decide whether or not to accept the memories they experienced after their brief time in the mortal world.

Conan continued, "Therefore, it is highly likely that he took the seat with the information I added."

To be honest, he was even prepared to use the CYZ effect, which is measured in strings.

This is undoubtedly an opportunity to attempt to indirectly interfere with the recording mechanism of the Throne of Heroes.

"And if you remember, Moon, didn't the Throne of Heroes try to 'download' my data from the very beginning?"

"This kind of record for each [Heroic Spirit] should be its 'instinct,' that is, as long as it is a [Heroic Spirit], it should be recorded on the [Throne of Heroes]."

"In fact, from this perspective, the one who attacked you should be either Alaya or Gaia, or both."

"Whether for the continuation of humanity or the continuation of the planet, truly understanding the phenomenon of the timeline means having truly unlimited resources."

"In that case, the trap of so-called 'consumer civilization' will fall apart on its own."

……

Hasegawa Tsuki's eyes started to swirl.

She thought she understood completely, but now she suddenly felt a little dizzy.

"Wait... but didn't you say that none of these three should be our enemies?"

"yes--"

Conan's voice rang out softly in the empty hall, sounding exceptionally clear and lingering.

He looked up at the data display screen hanging in the dome, his voice carrying a hint of indescribable emotion.

"The moon... our real opponent this time is hiding its true strength very well."

"First it was Alaya, then the Throne of Heroes, then Gaia..."

With each name that came to mind, Conan's eyes sharpened, his detective thoughts traversing a vast labyrinth of information, attempting to approach the core of the truth.

This kind of unpredictable misleading actually started from the moment the moon appeared over Hasegawa!

In fact, if it weren't for Gilgamesh's unexpected actions, which led him to impulsively decide to test the Throne of Heroes' reaction...

The league will absolutely continue to be misled by this triple-disguise approach.

And now, the famous detective's lips slowly curled into a smile.

A familiar smile, the kind of smile that comes from encountering an intriguing mystery, appeared on the face of the detective named Conan Edogawa.

The light flashing in his eyes was no longer the cold rationality of calculation, but almost a burning passion like a hound smelling blood or a chess player seeing the prey.

Look!

After peeling back the layers, what is the final thing left in the panacea of ​​truth?
The detective then lifted the lid on what was called the "puzzle".

Then, he was surprised to find that there was one hidden inside—

A fourth party capable of manipulating Gaia, Alaya, and the Throne of Heroes at will!
Conan tapped his fingers unconsciously on the table, trying to draw a picture of the mastermind behind it all.

"I have to admit, this guy has a very deep understanding of the other three."

"So much so that his previous 'guidance' behavior seemed as if it were just a natural response from something like the Alaya consciousness."

Conan waved his hand, unleashing a light screen that poured out all the information about the [Type-Moon Universe] from the database, almost filling the entire dome of the hall.

His gaze lingered on those who were connected to the Root, those who had used the Holy Grail, those who had come into contact with magic, and those who had founded Chaldea.

Wow, there seem to be so many people who meet the criteria!

The detective suddenly realized that even though he had deduced several incorrect options—

But this time, it seems there's no "choose one of three" option.

"However... I will find your tail eventually."

Conan calmed himself down and kept his speculations to himself.

In any case, the league has now discovered the "fourth party".

He had even discovered a subtle "tacit understanding" between himself and his enemy.

For example, one's attitude towards changing historical inertia.

If I've become so cautious because of what happened in this universe, why is the other person doing the same?
Thinking of Gilgamesh's sudden transformation, a strange light appeared in Conan's eyes.

"In fact, if we consider the mastermind behind this, their speed in taking action is even faster than Conan's own..."

"It seems... he's even more afraid of [historical inertia] than the League itself."

After a few seconds of contemplation, Conan slowly raised his head.

In his mind, the threat level of the historical inertia of this universe has been maxed out.

"That is to say——"

The detective's voice lowered, as if fate itself was whispering:

"It seems that the historical inertia of this universe is indeed not such a simple thing after all..."

……

In fact, this problem is very easy to figure out.

How could a character design easily break through historical inertia?

To know--

The three key elements of everything in this universe.

But it even includes "soul" and "spirit".

PS: Come on! A no-prize guessing game: what/who/what/what force/existence is this fourth party?

(End of this chapter)