"I used to keep a journal regularly."
"In order to record all of my ideas and research in detail for future generations to reference, I spent time each day writing in my log."
"However, after being brought back from the Throne of Heroes by Makiri, my journal gradually began to include countless unspeakable misdeeds—acts befitting a villain."
"Later, due to the understanding of two friends, my memories were temporarily sealed. I was allowed to immerse myself in a dream, pretending to be a righteous man. To avoid waking myself up by reading those records, I burned the original log."
"But now that my memories have been restored, I no longer have a reason to destroy my notes. So, to organize my thoughts, I've decided to write a simplified record of what we've done—for my eyes only."
"Still, if someone were to defeat me and follow the path here, discovering this journal... then I suppose that's simply fate."
"..."
After finishing the opening page of the journal, Guinevere couldn't help but shake his head with a bitter smile.
"Mr. Babbage really went to great lengths to help us, huh..."
The journal had been left on the center table in the archive room—as if Babbage feared someone might miss it otherwise, the book lay open and in the most conspicuous spot of all.
Who the hell writes a diary... and then rewrites it after burning it?
Given that, there was no need to question Babbage's true intent.
Guinevere continued reading:
"Year X, April 5th — I was summoned from the Throne of Heroes by Makiri and became his Servant. He informed me of the plan to burn all of human history, devised by the King of Mages, Solomon. Makiri asked for my cooperation in destroying humanity within this Singularity, which was soon to manifest in London."
"Although we were once friends, I could not accept such a plan. I don't know what turned this man—once so passionate and righteous—into what he is today. But as a Servant, I had no way to defy my Master's command. I was forced into his plan."
"Also summoned was Paracelsus von Hohenheim. He didn't outright reject Makiri's plan. Though he felt uneasy about it, he was swayed by the allure of the Holy Grail... But then, he's always been like that. I wasn't surprised."
"Year X, April 6th — Makiri informed me that my life's work—the designs for my Difference Engine and Analytical Engine—had no inheritors. That my research had failed. And he told me that, according to intel from one of his allies from the future, even two centuries later, those inventions still wouldn't be completed. Humanity would never enter the glorious steam-powered future I dreamed of."
"I asked him: what, then, is the future of mankind?"
"He replied: Humanity would be destroyed by its own creations."
"I fell into despair."
"So humanity, in the end, would fall victim to its own insatiable desire, arrogance, and unrestrained hunger for knowledge."
"Year X, April 9th — Makiri finalized his plan to destroy humanity. He asked me to create a machine that could endlessly generate thick fog. Meanwhile, Hohenheim would develop a chemical reagent that would infuse the fog with mana, and cause it to multiply when electrified. Makiri intended to summon a powerful lightning-type Servant with the Holy Grail and use that lightning to rapidly spread the fog throughout the world, starting with London."
"Year X, April 11th — While searching for an appropriate leyline for our experiments, we encountered a group of cultists. Though we easily crushed them, in the aftermath, we discovered some unusual texts filled with forbidden knowledge."
"Makiri became very interested in these texts. He told us to continue developing the fog generator while he began studying the cult's tomes."
"Year X, April 17th — My fog machine had reached a prototype stage. At the same time, Makiri completed his research on the cult's writings. He informed us that the cultists worshiped a deity called the King in Yellow. Years ago, they had received a divine revelation to summon this god to London, bringing destruction to the world. They believed they would be granted eternal life in their god's kingdom."
"A few years ago, under divine instruction, they had kidnapped a young professor and sacrificed him, hoping to summon their god using his body. But the ritual failed. The professor disappeared, and the god bestowed new summoning texts instead."
"We studied these new texts. From what we could discern, the King in Yellow—or rather, this Great Old One—was likely an alien entity of immense power. Its arrival would, indeed, grant humans eternal life. But they would be transformed, warped into something no longer human."
"Makiri became obsessed with the idea of summoning this being. He scrapped our original plan in favor of completing the cultists' unfinished goal."
"He claimed that rather than outright extinction, it would be preferable for humanity to attain eternal life—even if in a different form. That way, everyone would 'live' and have the time to fulfill all their dreams."
"Hohenheim agreed. He always was easily swayed into bad ideas. I still could not accept Makiri's new plan... but again, I couldn't disobey."
Turning the page, Guinevere found himself staring at the familiar diagram of the King in Yellow's summoning ritual.
"To summon the King in Yellow requires nine massive stones and seven alien creatures called Byakhees. Only then can the ritual be guaranteed to succeed."
"Makiri and Hohenheim scoured the land for Byakhee or summoning methods, but to no avail. While the cult's texts included partial knowledge of how to summon them, the ritual could only be performed in an alternate dimension called the Dreamlands."
"Year X, May 2nd — Makiri summoned another Servant. He didn't reveal this Servant's true name, only instructed us to call him Mr. S. Apparently, he had leads on the King in Yellow."
"According to Mr. S, in 1593, an English playwright named Christopher Marlowe wrote a script titled The King in Yellow. Not long after, Marlowe was mysteriously killed. And he wasn't the only one—almost everyone who read the play eventually lost their sanity and fell into madness."
"The play was soon banned. The original was sealed beneath the Clock Tower, in their underground archive. That manuscript likely contained the knowledge we needed."
"Year X, May 3rd — The four of us slaughtered the Clock Tower's defenders and, in the depths of their underground library—or tomb—we found the original manuscript of The King in Yellow."
"But as we held it, the title on the cover began to change. It shifted into 'H A S T A.'"
"I am certain this was not an illusion, nor a trick of magecraft. That book came alive... as the letters morphed, the grooves on the cover shifted too, and the brittle paper seemed ready to devour my flesh. At that moment, I felt a chill down my spine."
Guinevere shuddered involuntarily.
Though he had never seen that exact scene with his own eyes, he had indeed held a copy of The King in Yellow—one that also mysteriously changed title to "H A S T A."
Without hesitation, he took the manuscript hidden in his coat and stuffed it into his system's inventory, terrified it might one day spring to life and start gnawing on his face.
Then he continued reading:
"Mr. S, on the other hand, was ecstatic. He said he recognized the handwriting. That it was Marlowe's own."
"Makiri and Hohenheim didn't dare read the cursed play—but Mr. S eagerly brought it back and began studying it in solitude."
"Year X, May 7th — Mr. S finished the play and seemed to have gained a wealth of forbidden knowledge. Thanks to that, Makiri was able to draft a new plan for the end of the world."
"Year X, May 8th — Using the Holy Grail and the instability of this Singularity's time-space fabric, they successfully opened a passage to the Dreamlands."
"Rather than enter the Dreamlands themselves, they used the Grail to create a city-sized pseudo-dreamworld between the Dreamlands and the real world—then dragged the consciousness of every Londoner into it."
"Makiri planned to summon the King in Yellow within this dreamworld. It would be far easier to open a path from the dream to the real world afterward."
"After arranging the nine stones, Makiri poured every resource he had into summoning seven Byakhee within the dreamworld. But during the ritual, we were ambushed—by something else that already dwelled there. Not a sentient being, but a shadow, acting purely on instinct."
"It was terrifyingly strong. We had to flee, and the summoning failed. All the Byakhee were torn apart by spatial turbulence."
"But that led to a new problem—we no longer had the materials to summon more Byakhee. Without them, the King in Yellow couldn't be summoned."
"Then Hohenheim proposed a mad idea."
"He discovered that the Byakhee's core identification signal came from the glowing organ in their chests."
"Though the creatures had died, their cores remained intact. If we could reactivate them, they might still serve as valid Byakhee substitutes."
"Moreover, he suggested we implant these cores into living beings. That way, the organ could function again, and the hosts would be recognized as Byakhee."
"Year X, May 13th — Hohenheim contacted Dr. Frankenstein. Apparently, he had significant experience in organ and flesh transplantation. However, ordinary human bodies could not withstand the alien core's stress. The experiment was put on hold."
"Year X, May 17th — The problem was solved."
"Hohenheim proposed that, instead of using ordinary humans, we should use Servants—heroic spirits, the highest-grade familiars, capable of surviving anything."
"And then, whether it was fortunate or tragic..."
"Hohenheim's experiment—succeeded."