"This is your badge number."
The hand of the HR Manager pushed a cold plastic card across the table in front of Suke, making a soft click.
In this SE.RA.PH oil rig base located nine hundred meters under the deep sea, the badge was the only pass.
Suke picked up the badge. It was designed very normally, except for the fact that the photo printed on it was not his own appearance. But evidently, the others did not notice this point, nor did they find it strange.
"New employee, welcome to SE.RA.PH."
The manager yawned and pointed to the deep sea outside the window, which was as thick as ink.
"Aside from the water pressure being a bit high and the air a bit stuffy, there's nothing bad about this place."
"Oh right, new employees must go to the Therapy Area on the top floor for a psychological evaluation. This is a strict rule of the base."
The Therapy Area on the top floor?
Suke recalled that Christian church, which was also the workplace of Sessyoin Kiara, a Buddhist. The Statue of Yoba in his chest emitted a faint glow, blocking the consciousness erosion surging toward him from the air at all times.
'Have I returned to the past?'
'No, that's not right. Some details are abnormal.'
'These employees are not real humans, but images left behind by obsessions.'
Using the badge as a pass to shuttle through the oil rig base, watching the seawater outside the glass walls, Suke fell into thought. After entering the Mental World passage in the Valley of Breasts, he had thought he would immediately see some powerful monster or terrifying deity.
Suke was even prepared to immediately activate the Statue of Yoba to defend himself. He didn't know how things were going for Tsukishiro Yuki and BB, but his encounter here seemed different from what he had anticipated.
What does Sessyoin Kiara mean by this?
Could it be, as Meltryllis said, that she wants to meet him in the guise of a powerless human?
But didn't she say her enemy was the 'Buddha Mother'?
Swiping the badge, Suke stepped onto the elevator within this oil rig base. The elevator trembled slightly amidst the friction sound of the deep-sea water pressure, and the numbers slowly rose from negative towards the top floor.
The moment the elevator doors slid open, the space filled with the smell of machine oil and agitation vanished instantly. It was replaced by an extremely incongruous aura of tranquility.
It was the scent of calming incense that would only appear in a temple or a clinic.
Suke stepped onto the artificial turf carpet on the top floor; this was a rare touch of greenery on the boundless ocean. Unknowingly, he arrived at the end of the top-floor corridor, where the door with the sign "Psychological Consultation Room" was left ajar.
"Benefactor, please come in. This poor monk has been waiting for a long time."
A female voice, as soft as a feather brushing against the eardrum, rang out, carrying a magic that made one unconsciously want to lower all defenses.
Suke pushed the door open.
Warm sunset light—an environmental effect simulated by lamps—spilled through the floor-to-ceiling windows onto the mahogany table in the room, which was not of industrial metal style. With a bindi on her forehead and slightly curled long hair, innate enchantments and acquired Buddha-nature converged on her body to create a strange sense of harmony.
The voluptuous woman named Sessyoin Kiara sat in that simulated sunset light. She wore a doctor's white coat, her long hair draping over her shoulders.
A pair of deep purple eyes held that eternal smile. One hand performed a Buddhist greeting as she gazed compassionately at Suke. She looked even better than her primordial Demonic Bodhisattva state. There was no demonic aura, no lust, and no temptation that spontaneously caused one to sink into depravity.
"As the Benefactor sees, this poor monk was once the psychological counselor here, Sessyoin Kiara."
She bowed slightly, her long hair sliding down to reveal a neck as smooth as white porcelain.
"I know the confusion in your heart, Benefactor, and I know your anxiety for your friends' situations."
"But before that, please have a brief chat with this poor monk."
Sessyoin Kiara pulled out another chair from under the desk and placed it opposite her own seat, making a gesture of invitation to Suke.
Although she showed no malice throughout, Suke remained vigilant at all times. As long as he saw anything amiss, he would activate the Statue of Yoba to fight her.
"May this poor monk ask for the Benefactor's name first?"
"Suke."
"Benefactor Suke, please sit."
"Benefactor, please look outside. This boundless seascape is very beautiful, is it not?"
Suke followed Sessyoin Kiara's gaze out the window. Under the direct illumination of the oil rig base's powerful searchlights, giant and blind fish in the deep sea were swimming past silently. Their lifeless fish eyes stared ceaselessly at this room, which was as bright as a lighthouse upon the sea.
"It is indeed not bad."
"But I do not like the ocean."
"Oh? Why?"
"First, the pure ocean makes one feel lonely, and it has no space for me to produce and cultivate."
"Secondly, the ocean is calm and waveless on the surface, but beneath that bottomless water, it might be nurturing some unknown foreign entities."
"Just like the human nature that once pushed you onto the Demonic Path, isn't it?"
"Hehe..." Faced with Suke's rhetorical question, Sessyoin Kiara smiled wordlessly.
This poor monk originally thought the Benefactor would defend human nature. Now it seems I took it for granted.
"Amitabha. The Benefactor understands this poor monk far better than this poor monk anticipated..."
"If you called me here just to tell me about your tragic past, I naturally have no objection."
Suke interrupted Sessyoin Kiara's words. Holding the Statue of Yoba, he did not forget that the person before him was the enemy he had to deal with.
"You can release CHALDEAS first and restore Human History. That way, we will have plenty of time to talk slowly later."
"The Benefactor is truly impatient."
Sessyoin Kiara shook her head slightly. She picked up the remote control on the table and turned on the TV in the counseling room.
"Previously, this poor monk said the Benefactor has three enemies: this poor monk's Dharma form, what this poor monk swallowed, and this poor monk's sin."
"Why doesn't the Benefactor take a look first at how your comrades are doing?"
The TV displayed two surveillance-like images; these were projections of Sessyoin Kiara's Mental World.
From Suke's perspective, although Tsukishiro Yuki, who was fighting the Third Beast, was barely holding a stalemate, she was gradually falling into a disadvantage before the various deities constantly evolved by that triangular eye.
BB's situation was a bit better, but extremely limited.
Because he dared not let her integrate too much power from the letters—to prevent her essence from synchronizing too much with that Evil God—she was currently only barely circling around Sessyoin Kiara's sublimated Demonic Bodhisattva Dharma form.
Alright, Suke admitted his side's winning probability was not as high as estimated. He had to say, the strength of this Sessyoin Kiara far exceeded Suke's expectations. Or rather, this could no longer be summarized by the simple word "strong".
Suke felt that as long as conditions permitted, she alone could hang up and beat the other Beasts.
"Are you showing me these to urge me to make a move on you quickly?"
Drawing the Galaxy Sword, Suke had secretly urged the Shepherd's Crook just now, only to discover with surprise that it could not be used in this space. But even with only the Galaxy Sword provided by Stardew Valley and other equipment, Suke was confident in fighting Sessyoin Kiara.
"It is futile for the Benefactor to kill the current poor monk."
"This poor monk asked the Benefactor to come to tell the Benefactor that this poor monk can almost no longer suppress 'Her'."
Her?
Suppress whom?
There's still another expert?
Hearing these words, Suke's movements paused, and the look he gave Sessyoin Kiara held a bit more surprise. What did the Demonic Bodhisattva mean by this? Could it be that this Beast, who regarded herself as the only human, was actually doing the job of saving the world?
"The Benefactor misunderstands. This poor monk is not such a kind person. Suppressing 'Her' is merely in line with this poor monk's interests."
"This poor monk is the Enemy of Buddha, and also the Beast who pursues endless pleasure for the self. Therefore, this poor monk knows deeply..."
"After 'He' passes into Parinirvana, 'Her' next target will be this poor monk. All that this poor monk has done is merely for self-preservation."
Sessyoin Kiara pressed the remote control, and the simulated sunset scenery outside the glass wall dispersed.
The scene that replaced it was located at the Caelum Biya, the highest point on the front of the Moon Cell:
Falling from the majestic body possessed by the "Awakened One," who forever sits and watches all disputes in the world—
A shattered, closed-eye Buddha head!
"——?!"
The moment he met the gaze of that shattered Buddha head, Suke felt a terrifying buzz in his brain. If his body hadn't been digitized, he estimated he would have been crushed to the point of breathlessness the moment he saw this scene.
The "Awakened One," an existence in the Type-Moon worldview that could be called the unique, immortal, and imperishable Transcendent of the multiverse:
How did he end up beheaded, with his Buddha body eroded to nothingness!
Suke felt a bit numb. If he had known this earlier, he would have taken Tsukishiro Yuki and the others and run away!
So what if the FGO world is destroyed? It's not like Fujimaru Ritsuka can't continue living. There are so many empty houses in Pelican Town; just arrange one for her, and it'd be fine, right?
Suke now only felt that the harmonious and warm environment of Stardew Valley could soothe his shocked soul.
"What do you want me to do?" Suke looked at Sessyoin Kiara, his voice without hesitation.
He didn't know why he asked this. clearly, he was just a Farmer who wanted to go back to the countryside to farm. Clearly, he kept claiming to detest disputes between people, yet he couldn't help but actively participate for the sake of others.
No wonder he and Tsukishiro Yuki could end up together; perhaps the base colors of the two were the same.
"Truly surprising. This poor monk thought the Benefactor would at least hesitate for a while."
"After all, when this poor monk discovered the truth back then, my mind was also nearly unstable, almost letting 'Her' break the seal and emerge."
Sessyoin Kiara shook her head, seemingly sighing with emotion.
"However, the Benefactor need not be anxious. There is no need for the Benefactor to do anything now. You only need to wait for your two friends and this poor monk's two aspects to determine a victor."
"Regardless of whether they or this poor monk wins, after the 'essences' are added together, they will become the next prey."
"At that time, there will be more time..."
"Stop. I do not accept."
Before Sessyoin Kiara could finish, Suke immediately and decisively rejected her proposition. Although Tsukishiro Yuki theoretically wouldn't die with Stardew Valley bound to her, faced with such a bizarrely powerful enemy, he would not gamble with the fate of those close to him!
"If you want to cooperate with me, then immediately terminate the battle with the two of them!"
"The person who agreed to help you handle these messy matters is me, not them. I hope you can get this clear, Sessyoin Kiara!"
"...Amitabha. Very well."
"The Benefactor needs only to wait here. Leave the rest to this poor monk."
Sessyoin Kiara closed her eyes and smiled. She was not surprised by the choice of this man, whose essence seemed similar to the thing she suppressed.
Originally, she recreated the Singularity to let Servants slaughter each other and allowed BB to escape, essentially to refine the essences of BB and the Servants. She intended to make them a prey slightly smaller than herself to serve as bait, buying her time.
This was a necessary sacrifice; the Demonic Bodhisattva, who always regarded only herself as "human," thought so.
But now, a prey larger than her, and an existence more like a "human" than her, had arrived. So, it was also time for her to be the bait.
[If one sees me in forms, if one seeks me in sounds, he practices a deviant path and cannot see the Tathagata...]
At this very moment, Sessyoin Kiara, who was still human, recited the Buddhist sutras she had studied for half her life. As the Demonic Bodhisattva, she embodied the two sides of Love for Humanity and Evil of Humanity to the extreme.
Her body gradually dissolved into formlessness, leaving only the Sanskrit chanting echoing by the ears. The images of the two battlefields on the TV came to an abrupt halt.
In Suke's eyes, the lights all around inside this deep-sea oil rig base were gradually extinguishing. First the employee dormitories on the bottom floor, then the offices, then the control room...
A thick darkness rising from below gradually surrounded Suke, allowing him to feel more truly the oppression that the Demonic Bodhisattva endured.
The Beast named the Beast of Pleasure loves humans. If humanity consisted only of herself, then what did it matter if all living beings other than her burned to ash?
But if a second "human" in her eyes appeared,
She was willing to transform her essence of the Evil of Humanity into Love for Humanity, to fight for a way out for this so-called "humanity".
A gentle embrace, like a mother's, surrounded Suke, making him not want to think about anything, or even use the Return Scepter in his backpack that could instantly extricate him from danger. Unlike Sessyoin, these things could not hurt him. But precisely because of this, unable to die, he also found it difficult to escape.
[...?!]
And it was also at this moment, inside the originally frozen TV screen,
Facing the Demonic Bodhisattva Dharma form that suddenly collapsed and crumbled under the attack, BB, who had partially fused with the Moonless Moon, had a strange look on her face.
But immediately, as an AI whose essence was different from others, she seemed to sense something and abruptly looked outside the TV—
[Seed... Damn it...!!]
A hoarse electric current sound came from the TV in the counseling room. What the BB inside the TV took out without hesitation was that [A Girl's Portrait].
At that moment, she suddenly understood the feelings of the girl named Meltryllis, who was willing to burn her own Spirit Origin to protect her love.
Clearly, she was just an Alter Ego cut off from her. In a sense, that should have been herself. But now, it didn't seem too late?
The BB inside the TV screen completely burned that photo.
In the final moment before the power cut out completely and the curtain fell, a force forcibly lit up the TV screen!
Accompanying it was that impressive girlish electronic voice, straining every nerve, yet intermittent within the TV.
[BB-Channel———!]
...
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