Flee. Flee. Flee flee flee flee...
When the shimmering, iridescent waters of the Primordial River appeared before his eyes, the only thought left in his mind was that single word — and beyond it, nothing but a vast, white blankness.
But in the very moment that impulse surged within him, he looked around — and found that the Primordial River had already closed in on every side. The Primordial River, now roused to fury, would not permit the one who had transgressed against it to simply walk away.
In an instant, the evil of this world was completely at a loss.
And it wasn't just the Primordial River — even the space itself was refusing to let him leave!
Only Anthony stood there, smiling pleasantly as he gazed at the Greater Grail he had summoned forth, and let out a soft, satisfied murmur.
You're kidding — did you really think I'd let such a precious material just run away?
Did you really think being a Forgemaster meant nothing at all?
From the very beginning, Anthony had already arranged a Forgemaster's Cage around the perimeter — it wasn't only the Primordial River binding the escape of his quarry; the Forgemaster's Cage had likewise sealed this entire space shut, completely and without exception.
"Well then. I don't think we need to bother with introductions again."
And so, a smile on his face, he extended both hands toward the Grail — and amid the Primordial River's compression and roaring, he lifted the Grail with natural, effortless ease and cradled it into the Origin Furnace.
In that instant, Soul Flames surged and blazed — and across Anthony's face, a smile of pure joy broke open.
Like a farmer beholding a bountiful harvest, his happiness was simple and utterly uncomplicated.
Then, within the searing of the Soul Flames, countless masses of black mud were smelted down — and gradually, they condensed into a single refined gemstone, which Anthony snatched up with one hand and tossed, in a single motion, deep into the Underworld Vessel.
With that, the Primordial River subsided, and the endless black mud surrounding Anthony dispersed along with it. He landed lightly on his feet, gave a casual wave, and dissolved the Origin Furnace's presence — then smiled and turned to look at Kiritsugu Emiya and Shirou Emiya.
"Alright — the Grail's been taken care of too."
Anthony let out a long breath and said as much to the two of them, a wave of relief rising in his own chest as well.
The main objective he'd come to the Nasuverse to accomplish had finally been seen through… whatever came after, that could be worked out slowly between Kiritsugu Emiya and Shirou Emiya.
As for what came next — Anthony didn't want to wait around even a moment longer.
He was in a hurry to get back and patch up the Underworld, and to take a proper look at what was going on in the real world on the Underworld's corresponding side.
Still, before he left, there were a few loose ends to tie up first… He steadied his thoughts, then turned to address the two of them:
"Hmm… so, quick question — would either of you be interested in coming to work for me?"
"Ah?"
Shirou Emiya looked toward Anthony with some confusion, letting out a bewildered sound — and then, all of a sudden, a strange, age-old unease began to rise within him…
Like watching a black-hearted capitalist smile at you.
But before he even had time to think it through, he found, in a daze, that somehow Anthony had already gently placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Don't worry — the compensation is very generous."
Anthony said this with a smile. Kiritsugu Emiya opened his mouth slightly, just about to say something, when Anthony turned his head back toward him.
"Don't be in such a rush — you're coming too."
Kiritsugu Emiya: ?
"Me as well?"
As it turned out, Anthony had no intention of letting a single unit of labor slip through his fingers. Especially someone like Kiritsugu Emiya — a perfectly capable, eminently useful workhorse if there ever was one.
Willing to use any means necessary at critical moments, operating with exceptional efficiency, on good terms with Anthony, and equipped with an Origin Bullet Gatling to boot…
Good lord — you are literally a heaven-sent employee!
And as luck would have it, his Underworld Vessel LLC was still missing an HR director.
And so, after Anthony's repeated and enthusiastic persuasion, one Mister Kiritsugu Emiya finally agreed to the offer.
He thereby became the AAA Mage Wholesale Vendor of Fuyuki City — Mister Kiritsugu.
The arrangement the two of them struck was simple enough: Kiritsugu would make periodic visits to the Underworld side for equipment maintenance and condition tune-ups, then return to Fuyuki City — or wherever else in that world he might be needed — and then… eliminate mages.
Specifically the kind guilty of truly grievous sins — using those carried no psychological burden whatsoever, and one Origin Bullet was more than enough.
After that, bring the bodies to the Underworld Vessel while the souls still hadn't dispersed, and Anthony would work overtime to process them into staff members, stuff them into freshly manufactured toilets — and just like that, the cycle of human resources was complete.
With this arrangement in place, Anthony would never again have to worry about being shorthanded.
The score reserves, which had begun to dip somewhat, suddenly surged back to comfortable levels with this new wave of recruitment — and the Underworld Vessel's income had doubled outright.
And the number of staff members was still growing by the day.
Anthony estimated that before long, he might well start seeing old worms turning up in the toilets… When it came to selecting people, Anthony had nothing but praise for Kiritsugu's judgment. Mages, as a population, weren't exactly paragons of humanity to begin with — and with Kiritsugu doing a bit of screening beforehand, Anthony figured there would be absolutely no issues.
As for Shirou Emiya… Anthony thoughtfully arranged a staff dormitory for him aboard the Underworld Vessel.
A double room, naturally — which could double as family quarters while they were at it.
As for who the other occupant would be… did anyone really need to ask?
Shirou Emiya's duties, meanwhile, were perfectly straightforward.
Anthony and he agreed: once Shirou had first teamed up with Kiritsugu to clean up the local mages of Fuyuki City and bring the Holy Grail War to a proper close, he would come by the Underworld Vessel during work hours each day and project a selection of blades.
The ones that weren't useful would go straight back into the group chat for recycling — pocket money — and any that might prove valuable would be tossed into the Origin Furnace for a reforging pass, set aside as materials for future use.
In truth, part of why Shirou Emiya ended up accepting this proposal was because Illya had been quietly nudging him toward it behind the scenes. After all, once he was aboard the Underworld Vessel, a certain father figure would be just a little further away.
The HR father would make periodic visits to the Underworld Vessel, sure — but a great deal of the time he'd still be back in the Nasuverse world rounding up targets, wouldn't he?
And so, blithely ignoring the outraged protests of said father figure, Anthony cheerfully wrapped up the follow-up arrangements for Illya and Shirou — and incidentally assigned them rooms right next door to David and Lucy's, so the two couples could conveniently exchange life experience from time to time…
[Hero of Justice: @Lord of the White Holy Throne, where are you now?]
[Lord of the White Holy Throne: Hm? I'm in the Underworld now — is something the matter?]
[Hero of Justice: Tch. Never mind. Shame.]
[Lord of the White Holy Throne: ?]
[Hero of Justice: Just thinking — if you were still on the Underworld Vessel, I'd have come back to put a couple bullets in you.]
After typing out that string of messages in the group chat, Kiritsugu Emiya, machine gun still in hand, found himself sinking into a profound headache.
A long moment passed before he finally let out a sigh.
He found himself missing, more than a little, the days when Illya and Shirou Emiya had both been at his side.
Son of a — now they'd both been lured away to the Underworld Vessel by that bastard Anthony!
And here he was, still having to put in overtime!
For a moment, Kiritsugu Emiya unleashed a torrent of Origin Bullets — while simultaneously directing a deep and heartfelt resentment at a certain irresponsible absentee capitalist.
[Hero of Justice: @Lord of the White Holy Throne, you damn capitalist — give me back my daughter and my adopted son!]
[AAA Urban Ghost: @Lord of the White Holy Throne, you damn capitalist — give me back my daughter!]
[Warrior of Sinfall's Fugue Note: @Lord of the White Holy Throne, you damn capitalist!]
[Lord of the White Holy Throne: ? Hold on — Himmel, what the hell are you piling on for?]
[Warrior of Sinfall's Fugue Note: It was on the way.]
[Lord of the White Holy Throne: I can see you're asking for it.]
And just like that, having neatly redirected the conversation, Anthony finally looked up and lifted his gaze toward the Underworld stretching before him — and let out one long, slow breath.
Well then. Now that the loose ends on the Nasuverse side had been dealt with, it was time to see to his own affairs.
He glanced at the Greater Grail, still sealed within the miniature Forgemaster's Cage, and a faint smile tugged at the corners of his mouth.
Then he opened his group chat panel — and displayed on it was the current state of the Underworld.
Same as before: everything remained in a state of damage. But this time, with the Grail in hand, at least some of it could be repaired.
It was a drop in the bucket compared to the Underworld's current state of ruin — but it was, at least, a cause for celebration as the very first step forward.
And moreover, once you had a starting point, the road ahead was naturally far easier to walk.
After a brief moment of consideration, Anthony chose to use the Grail to restore two functions.
The Eighteen Levels of Hell — and the Huangquan Road.
This was the conclusion he had reached after careful deliberation. The Eighteen Levels of Hell were, in essence, a place for holding the souls of the guilty — and after studying them closely, Anthony had figured it out…
Wait — isn't this just my toilets?
The souls of the irredeemably wicked within them provided energy, which in turn sustained the Underworld's operation. Given the Underworld's current broken state, there wasn't much operation to sustain — and so the souls stored within would automatically convert into repair progress for the Underworld…
Once enough souls had accumulated, they'd surely save a great deal of effort in patching the Underworld back together.
As for where the souls would come from — why, hadn't they just taken on a new HR hire in the form of Mister Kiritsugu Emiya?
As for the Huangquan Road — that was even more critical.
Anthony needed it to confirm exactly what the situation was right now.
In the Underworld, the Huangquan Road was effectively the point of connection with reality. Through his earlier observations, Anthony had already noted that this world had a real-world counterpart corresponding to the Underworld — and with overwhelming probability, it was a Journey to the West world…
But Journey to the West worlds came in different timelines and different possibilities, and Anthony still had to see for himself what this particular world was like, didn't he?
As long as the Huangquan Road was repaired, he would be able to pin down the current state of things.
And above all… he could try to trace the faintest traces of the Great Sage.
Every time he thought about the note the Great Sage had left behind, Anthony's expression would grow grave — and he'd start getting a headache over this infuriating mess.
He drew a deep breath, cleared his thoughts, and gave a wave of his hand — and at once, the Grail shattered, and countless streams of black mud surged forth, only to be drawn back into the Origin Furnace amid its rumbling roar.
In an instant, Soul Flames blazed outward, and countless points of score transformed into pure torrents of soul-force, pouring outward in every direction.
In that moment, Anthony felt as though he had entered once more into that supremely wondrous state.
As though he had stepped between heaven and earth — becoming the agent of heaven and earth's great power!
As though… he had returned to the place he was always meant to be — this Underworld that had always rightfully been his!
And so, from that moment, heaven and earth were remade — and the reconstruction began!
The torrents of souls surged toward the Huangquan Road and the Eighteen Levels of Hell. Under the mending of the black mud, the groaning of countless souls rang out — like the Forgemaster's great hammer, striking blow after blow upon ancient, crumbling walls.
Then the walls cracked — and from beneath the fractures, rebuilt and renewed barriers emerged into being…
All things renewed.
At last, half an hour later, the Eighteen Levels of Hell stood restored and gleaming — still empty within, but repaired enough that they could, at least in part, be put back into use.
As for the Huangquan Road…
Withdrawing from the wondrous state of the Forgemaster's great power, Anthony turned his focus and gazed into the distance — toward the Huangquan Road stretching to the far edge of the Underworld visible in his sight — and felt a peculiar, tugging pull.
As though that distant Huangquan Road were an extension of his own limbs.
And so, with a single thought, Anthony's consciousness descended upon the Huangquan Road almost immediately — and then, following the road, began to extend outward without limit.
And in that moment, his consciousness broke free of the Underworld's bounds — and after passing through the boundless, churning chaos of souls, arrived at the distant real world——
——Sunlight.
When his soul's vision fell upon reality, the very first thing Anthony saw was bright, golden sunlight.
Then, as though looking at an aerial view, he was able to survey this world — like gazing at an extraordinarily high-resolution map…
So this was the perspective of the Huangquan Road?
For a moment, Anthony looked out at the real world with a measure of uncertainty.
And then, he discovered something entirely beyond his expectations…
Why does this place look like the modern era?
Anthony stared at the towering skyscrapers, and the various convenience shops and food streets that he found utterly familiar — and fell silent.
Hold on — which version of Journey to the West is this?
Where on earth has it dumped me?
His gaze zoomed in and out repeatedly, observing every passing pedestrian, until finally — from the screens of various people's phones — he confirmed one inescapable fact:
What the actual hell. This is the modern era, no question about it — every single pedestrian's phone screen says 2026!
Even the buildings lining the streets gave Anthony a vague, creeping sense of familiarity… His memory of them wasn't clear, but he had the persistent feeling he'd seen them somewhere before.
He continued to observe the passersby, turning the nature of this world over in his mind — until his gaze came to a halt on one particular pedestrian.
"Hss… why does this person seem kind of familiar?"
He narrowed his eyes, staring at the young man with a head of bright red hair, dressed in a short-sleeved shirt, and muttered to himself — and then, in the very next instant, his pupils contracted sharply, as he watched the young man suddenly spin around on his heel and meet his soul's vacant, incorporeal gaze!
Then, within Anthony's line of sight, a flash of superimposition crossed the young man's face — and for just a moment, it transformed into the image of a rough-faced, thunderclap-lipped monkey!
And then, from the other's mouth, Anthony heard a sound — seemingly one of mild surprise — a question:
"Little King of the Underworld?"
And in the very next instant, the young man vanished — and with Anthony's level of soul strength, all he caught was a single frame before the disappearance: what appeared to be the opening move of a somersault.
Anthony: ...
Oh no. Oh no no no.
That was the Great Sage, wasn't it?!
____
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