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

Chapter 340 CYZ Alliance - Mass-Produced Heroic Spirit Panel - Prototype 1 - 0.3 Beta Test Version

"Hanada Rin Ume... So, it's that Ume Rin...?"

In the main hall of the executive level, the figure at the very front of the projection was staring intently at the record sent back by Hisayu Maiya's grimoire.

Conan tries to deduce the purpose of the Flower Magician's attack on the League from Hisayu Maiya's description and the records in the magic book.

In fact, he found it difficult to understand the significance of Merlin's intervention at that time.

Judging from Hisayu Maiya's description, Merlin's cover-up was exceptionally clumsy; he attempted to influence Artoria in a very simple and crude way.

—Through direct chat.

Although the two people in the middle of it were unaware of the purpose of the casual conversation the "ordinary person" who was now in a coma had just had.

However, given the existence of "knowing the inertia of history," the reason why Merlin said those words to Artoria is quite obvious.

can only say--

The thing Merlin hated most still happened.

The Alliance is indeed a entity capable of "reading the script".

Therefore, he was essentially playing his cards open from the very beginning.

But this is also why Conan finds Merlin's "simple purpose" very strange, and even suspects that he might be hiding something.

The Fourth Holy Grail War takes place ten years after the Fifth Holy Grail War, and is theoretically the prelude to Artoria giving up her desire to obtain the Holy Grail, resolving her inner conflict, and truly returning to Avalon.

In other words, this Merlin should be the Merlin who has experienced the "Four Wars" and "Five Wars"—this can be seen from the fact that he accurately hit Saber's heart and made her start to rethink things in just two short sentences.

Conan pushed up his glasses, trying to restore the inexplicable contradictions to their original form through rational analysis in his mind.

The first thing that came to his mind was the most obvious and urgent conclusion.

“It seems…” Conan began slowly.

His voice drew the attention of Nagari Kuin and Hasegawa Tsuki, who were uploading their own "historical process" nearby.

"This universe should indeed be 'fixed' at the moment the Fourth World War ends."

"Otherwise, Merlin would have had no reason to bring forward the inevitable historical inertia, after all, Saber had let go of her inner turmoil by the end of the Fifth Holy Grail War."

The detective paused, then spoke of the second possibility.

"Or, in this timeline, Saber hasn't let go of her inner conflict, and she will ultimately choose to uphold her promise to [Alaya] and travel to other parallel universes to participate in the Holy Grail War."

Hasegawa Tsuki has already completed all the information about the [Type-Moon Universe] this morning.

"But Commander Kudo—"

Now, in response to Conan's second theory, Hasegawa Tsuki points out what she finds illogical.

"Whichever it is, doesn't it mean that Merlin actually already knew, or even experienced, the story of Artoria's return to Avalon?"

"Because if I remember correctly, Merlin should not have died, and there should be no nightmares on the Throne of Heroes."

"If his reason for doing all this was to free Artoria from the fate of participating in the endless Holy Grail War, then he should have already experienced that ending, right?"

To Hasegawa Tsuki's surprise, Conan repeated a few words from her speech several times.

"That Merlin...that Merlin..."

The detective tilted his head back, his eyes flickered, and his lips twitched, revealing a bitter smile somewhat similar to that of the Gemstone Elder not long ago.

What a hassle...

How long has passed in this [Type-Moon Universe] timeline?
However, although he was thinking these things, Conan did not immediately voice them.

He knew that if the truth was exactly the same as his thoughts, it would only cause Hasegawa Tsuki a lot of trouble and would not help the current situation at all.

The famous detective sighed inwardly.

In short, while I still have some time, I should slowly let the moon understand the seriousness of the situation.

What I need to do now is to make Hasegawa Tsuki realize—

The Alliance can no longer rely on historical inertia to predict the current situation.

"Moon, your conclusion is based solely on the fact that Merlin is not dead."

Fortunately, he was able to easily come up with several other possibilities to temporarily conceal this fact.

No, to be precise, Conan now very much hopes that the other possibilities he mentioned are true.

He then suggested a possibility that didn't sound too bad:
"For example, according to the information, magicians with the highest level of 'clairvoyance' can transmit information to each other to a certain extent."

"Or perhaps, in the real future, Merlin became a [Heroic Spirit]?"

"You should know that the records show that Merlin could also use the fact that he did not exist in certain eras to temporarily appear as a [Heroic Spirit] while being considered dead."

Seeing the thoughtful expression on Hasegawa Tsuki's face, Conan nodded slightly, but he was still thinking about something else.

after all--

"Taking action against Artoria" and "taking action against the Alliance" are not directly equivalent.

Although based on Hisayu Maiya's feedback, there was no fluctuation of magical power at the time, which temporarily rules out the possibility that Merlin used magic or illusion to spy on Hisayu Maiya's memories.

Even according to the records in the grimoire, Maiya's RSI value did not change.

—That’s exactly the problem.

Moreover, Merlin chose to interfere at the photography studio.

Conan turned his head and looked at Eiri Kuin, who had been silent all along.

"Yongli, are you sure there was nothing wrong with the RSI monitoring equipment in the photography studio at the time?"

In the alliance's plan, it was Eri Kuin who should have been the owner of the photography studio, the one who received the Knight King and Irisviel.

This trip to the photography studio was originally intended to bring the Alliance into Saber's view for the first time and to attempt a basic scan analysis of Artoria and Irisviel.

Unlike Caster, Saber is not actually a Heroic Spirit. Instead, she was summoned while still in physical form, through a bugged method before her death.

The puppets nearby drew some of their attention back from the outside world.

"From the current perspective, Merlin has not been hiding anything from us, nor does he seem to be very hostile."

In fact, as someone who had personally "encountered" Merlin, Eri Kuin clearly observed all of the magician's actions in the camera room.

Hasegawa Tsuki was somewhat surprised by her description.

"Jiuyin, you mean you witnessed Merlin performing the entire magic trick with your own eyes?!"

Yongli Jiu nodded.

"In fact, this is probably why the equipment failed to detect the corresponding problem."

"Perhaps due to some kind of limitation, when he actually communicated with Saber and the others to interfere, Merlin did only use verbal guidance."

Now, she projected the four RSI and magic comparison charts that had been analyzed.

"Because I was only under a very short-term illusion, and my RSI value fluctuation was also no more than 30."

Conan frowned at Eri Kuin's description.

"Not even 50...?"

Based on this, it can be confirmed that Merlin likely knows more information.

They may have different names for "historical inertia," but they clearly have some understanding of the consequences of excessive interference.

Yongli Jiuyin's statement continued in the hall.

"In fact, I have already conducted a full examination of the ordinary person who was 'possessed' by Merlin, and he is indeed an ordinary person."

"Based on the speculations of those magicians, Merlin must have cast an illusion on my part of the planet's surface."

"Because the planet's ley lines also contain corresponding memories, and the relevant historical details can also be matched."

Conan nodded to indicate that he understood.

He hesitated for a moment, but finally asked Yongli Jiuyin to take the "unlucky guy" named Hanada Rinmei.

“Bring him to the base, that would be best. Try to persuade him to join the Alliance.”

After all, the fact that Merlin briefly used him as a mouthpiece is something that cannot be ignored.

"Therefore, considering the timeline, this is arguably the most obvious weakness he left behind."

This must be the flower field's good fortune.

He gained the opportunity to join the "Alliance" and learn magic without paying anything in return.

If the magicians in the league, who are scrambling for the second "researcher" position, knew about this.

They would be incredibly jealous—they might even want to kill him out of jealousy, or try to take his place.

After all, there are issues regarding the compatibility of certain characteristics of the "timeline" with the [Type-Moon universe].

The Alliance has made some progress in its research on Gilles de Rais.

……

Actually, Conan has always felt a bit of regret when it comes to Caster.

Ah, if only a divine magician could come along.

Logically speaking, the Caster class should be the one most "related to the Holy Grail" in the Holy Grail War, at least possessing considerable magical knowledge.

But in the end, what was summoned this time was a half-baked one.

As for the "Scream of the Dead," which should actually be called the "R'lyeh Text," the Alliance's analysis of it has ended.

Aside from the Noble Phantasm's inherent ability to summon sea monsters, that true "knowledge," and the things it should guide...

—It's empty.

Even if the remaining magicians who haven't yet joined the alliance tried to summon or accept it themselves, it wouldn't work.

Meastia offered his insights based on his knowledge of magic.

"If the ritual was correct... then the problem lies with the other side."

"Based on the records about the 'Great Old Ones' in the materials, they are more like a phenomenon or knowledge itself."

To be honest, even the magician found it incredibly unbelievable.

“These rituals are supposed to be two-way communication rituals, and Caster can still summon small sea monsters, therefore… therefore…”

He paused for a moment, and finally chose the conclusion that he felt was more likely.

"Perhaps someone, after Marshal Giss, somehow blocked or abolished the relevant ritual pathways."

After all, killing a [Great Old One] or a [phenomenon]...

That certainly sounds quite shocking.

Of course, there was also good news.

For example, [Heroic Spirits] have the characteristic of being unique on the "timeline", and currently they do have a good compatibility with the timeline.

—According to current research, the successful "timeline" of [Matou Kariya] relies on this characteristic of [Heroic Spirits].

……

This is also the fundamental reason why these magicians desperately want to replace him. Because if Conan wants to use "Hanada Rin Ume" to see Ume without causing him a "fatal effect," then...

It's not hard to see that this person will acquire the status of a "Servant".

Yes! You guessed right!
After taking control through the "Book of False Ministers".

Based on all the information provided by Zouken Matou regarding the "Command Seal System," the outer layer analysis of Illya, and the research on Caster herself.

Currently, the league is already able to attempt mass production of the "Gils de Rais".

Of course, Conan is still the biggest contributor.

Because he preserved a Caster's "time node" in the form of a "timeline" at the observatory base.

Given the characteristic of the [Timeline] autonomously extending into the future, there are as many [Spirit Origins] as there are to go around.

However, to be precise, these Casters are more like a kind of "shadow follower"—

Because after this [Spirit Origin] was separated from the timeline, the Alliance had to make certain modifications to its structure before it could be put into use.

For example, it would be necessary to erase its connection to the Throne of Heroes, as well as the mechanism linking it to that evil soul.

This is a very large and complicated project.

In order to find out which parts of the [Spirit Origin] are solely responsible for maintaining the Servant's existence, Ryunosuke has already used up all of his three Command Seals.

This means that these replicated Casters are, in a sense, similar to the summoned sea monster minions.

It's nothing more than utterly useless waste.

Fortunately, that wasn't the main purpose of the league's "analysis" of Caster.

What is the point of an army of Casters?

Making a single panel requires at least a thousand strings, even if each of them could summon that great sea demon.

The combined destructive power is probably less than that of using [Earth Vein Resonance - Gravity Manipulation] at a cost of several hundred puxian.

A simple demonstration of the [Jump Terminal]'s gravity would crush them all.

Therefore, the key lies in further "cleansing" these "spiritual origins" to obtain a "blank spiritual origin".

In short, unlike the Conan of today, who purely uses the CYZ effect and the recognition of the Throne of Heroes to establish his identity as a Heroic Spirit.

now--

The unique [Blank Heroic Spirit Panel] belonging exclusively to the CYZ Alliance has been created.

This also means that only one final step remains before Irisviel's "spirit" or "soul" can be transferred.

That is, it is about "materializing" and transferring it through a portion of the "Third Law".

……

In fact, if we disregard Irisviel's unique circumstances, there are already successful examples of the alliance.

Unlike transferring to the outside world, it might encounter influences from the Throne of Heroes or Alaya.

At the observatory base, Ilya has countless chances to start over.

Given the established character traits, and based on historical inertia, a relocation from the observatory base is impossible; the timeframe and window of opportunity for such a relocation would be extremely short…

These issues are also among the difficulties in transferring Irisviel.

Moreover, it serves as a target RSI value that is at least higher than the external average.

Ilya could also interfere much more easily with ordinary magicians whose RSI values ​​were similar to those of the environment.

Meastia was the first magician to attempt this kind of alteration of the "spiritual structure".

Furthermore, this symbolizes his supreme glory in connecting with the Root.

That attribute panel never disappeared from his sight:
Version: CYZ Alliance - Mass Production Heroic Spirit Panel - Prototype 1 - 0.3 Beta Test Version

Name: Bradley Meastia
Category: [Research and Exploration Level]

Job Rank: Researcher, Level 2 Access Control
Department: Institute of Ether/Magic and Other Mystical Dynamics

Magic attribute: imaginary number·earth

Capability parameters:

Strength: E (Non-combat scholar physique)
Durability: E (Caster Spirit Origin Limit)

Agility: D (Regular action ability)

Magic power: B+ (earth veins and imaginary number circuit type 1)
Luck: E or A (depending on location; success rate of experiments is boosted by the [Timeline] technology)
Inherent Skill: [CYZ Magic Base Plate]

Noble Phantasm: [Hand of Forbidden Domain Exploration]
Yes, just like the information contained in this panel.

After Caster completely abandoned his subconscious defenses and was forced to reveal more information under the command of the Command Seals, the Alliance made considerable progress.

First, there's the issue of the [imaginary number property], although there are still problems with the porting of circuits.

However, by converting the Alliance's [Magic Base] into a Noble Phantasm, this attribute is now built into the [Heroic Spirit Panel]—no, it's part of the [Attribute Panel].

Of course, this also means that Meastia can be said to have "completely" switched sides to the alliance.

After all, the true core of the [CYZ Magic Base] is actually the CYZ effect.

As for the magician himself—

"I've never felt this good before..."

An unprecedented abundance of magical power; a body kept in optimal condition without external intervention; and direct access to the infinite knowledge of the Root Database (TDD)...

Furthermore, the technology related to "concept extraction" in this universe has also yielded some results after combining research on Command Seals and Caster's Noble Phantasm.

Because Caster's original [Spirit Origin] already had a "portal" reserved for his Noble Phantasm.

Although the 0.3 Beta version is not very efficient in recoding and transferring [Souls], it can still support one Noble Phantasm slot.

For example, the [Hand of Forbidden Realm Exploration] possessed by Meastia.

In a sense, this is actually a "concept" fixed by his own experience.

It is a CYZ spell provided by his own [soul] and fixed in his [spiritual origin].

This B-rank Noble Phantasm allows the user to create a 3m x 3m x 3m research field centered on themselves, enabling faster analysis of the magic or spiritual structure of targets within it.

Moreover, although it is a research-oriented technique, it can still bring some advantages in attack by using techniques and trajectories based on the "analysis" domain.

Compared to the [CYZ effect], which currently cannot be supplemented.

This is also the second CYZ spell in the alliance that can be activated entirely using magic.

According to Meastia's self-analysis:
"The principle behind this technique is actually to passively acquire information about phenomena within the 'domain' by using the pathways of the [soul] and the [root].

"Therefore, if I initiate it myself, I only need to expend magic power; the rest of the others—"

His voice carried a hint of uncertainty.

"Perhaps we need to modify a portion of the [Spirit Origin] structure to be the same as mine, otherwise we'll probably still have to use the effect."

"At the same time, there are also disadvantages at present."

"Like a true Servant, I will collapse once I leave the Alliance's ley line power source—and it should be the kind where my soul is 'scattered'."

However, this is only natural.

To give a more vivid example, Meastia has now transformed herself into an incomplete "materialization of the soul".

"Moreover... I may never reach the 'root' of the 'Type-Moon Universe'."

Just like substances that have undergone a chemical reaction.

At this moment, the magician has been completely "transformed" into another form of being.

Nowadays, he is more like Ms. Miyano from "this universe".

In other words, they became "semi-CYZ effect organisms" in a certain sense.

However, in Meastia's view, this precisely meant that he had truly become a part of the "Root"—

As for which "root cause" it was, he didn't care at all.

Even if transforming myself into this form results in the loss of some [spiritual information], even if from now on death means true death...

The magician will make the same decision.

"It's just the loss of a portion of my memories; it's not even as risky as the magic research I did in the past!"

After all, reality is—

For magicians, death is all too commonplace.

The part that truly loses its "soul" seems no different from death.

It can only be said that Iskandar's previous remarks were absolutely accurate.

Every life should be equally sacred.

This idea is precisely the kind of "arrogant thought" that only beings at a higher level, those gods who can see the "essence of humanity," can possess.

Moreover, after truly joining the Alliance and learning about the relevant information regarding the origins and historical inertia of the Type-Moon universe...

—Measstia was even glad of her decisiveness.

In his view, given the current situation of the [Eternal Youth]'s management, it's only a matter of time before the [Alliance] fabricates something similar to the [Throne of Heroes].

In that case, death could undoubtedly be avoided.

Moreover, I am just a researcher.

As long as we don't leave the base, we don't need to worry about the energy and security issues that will allow us to maintain our existence, right?

This is the benefit of "having a big tree to lean on for shade".

Even if you really need to go out for some reason.

If the mission is assigned by the alliance, then the effective value will naturally be used as funding for the action or research.

As for whether it's a researcher's private matter...

Meastia glanced at the string of data in the upper right corner of her panel.

CYZ effect reserve: 73 universal string

—This is his salary.

As a regular level-two researcher, his salary was one puxian per day.

Then, in the remaining 70 chords.

Part of it is subsidies for participating in hands-on experiments, such as this experiment with the [Attribute Panel].

Another part comes from uploading family-inherited magic tricks and contributions from one's own magical attributes.

In fact, after learning this, Meastia was most grateful that she had volunteered to participate in the experiment after joining the League.

Otherwise, as a trainee member, his experimental allowance would be halved!

(End of this chapter)