As they crossed the wilderness and pushed toward the center of this non-primates' living sphere, a clear change appeared before them.
The combat beasts grew fewer and fewer, until eventually there was not a single one in sight.
It was not because Shiomi and the others had been clearing them as they moved.
Rather, the pattern of distribution within the Realm of Slaughter itself was shifting.
By the time they reached the center, Shiomi and his group saw something that did not belong in the desolate wasteland of the Realm of Slaughter at all.
A building.
The Beast Throne of the domain's ruler, a grand palace that governed both the Realm of Survival and the Realm of Slaughter.
A modern structure like a white tower, its glass walls sharply reflecting the Anomaly Domain's blue sky and drifting white clouds.
"NFF…" Shiomi stared at the sign mounted above the main entrance. "I remember the Crypter saying Koyanskaya liked to present herself as coming from a company called NFF Services."
In the year between the Incineration of Humanity being resolved and the onset of Bleaching, Shiomi had been unable to move around for most of that time. Aside from rehabilitation, he spent his days going through the intelligence Chaldea gathered from all over the world.
That included NFF, which rose to prominence in January 2017. It began as a small logistics company that had been acquired. After that, the buyer went on a spree, absorbing companies in IT, advertising, video, fashion, steel, and finance, merging them into a massive enterprise.
Only after those acquisitions were complete did the name NFF appear, promoted as a comprehensive company whose main business was human resources agency services.
From start to finish, it had taken only three months.
Shiomi had been surprised that a corporation on that scale, something that would normally take decades or even centuries for humans to build, could come into being so quickly. But he had not thought much of it then, chalking it up to yet another once-in-a-generation business prodigy.
Now, it was obvious it had never been about business talent at all. It was the result of Koyanskaya leveraging the power of a Beast candidate.
"Look," Scáthach said, watching the figure walking out of the front doors. "Our welcoming party is here… if you can even call that a person."
It walked upright like a human, a black rabbit made humanoid.
Calling it a rabbit-man would have been more accurate.
"Welcome, guests. Welcome to the NFF Headquarters Building, the Nine Fox Foundation Headquarters Building. I am PB, appointed by the President as your guide. I am the only suspected life form permitted to use language within this domain. You may call me PB. I look forward to working with you."
The black rabbit-man who called itself PB introduced itself with impeccable politeness.
For Koyanskaya, it seemed that even enemies were treated as guests visiting corporate headquarters before a battle began.
There was a distinct, businesslike courtesy to it.
"Please tell me your names."
After the introduction, PB asked for Shiomi's group to identify themselves.
"Not so fast. We're still missing people." Shiomi raised a hand to stop it.
A rush of wind brushed past their ears. Taigong Wang and Nikitich appeared as if they had simply materialized, arriving in front of the NFF building to meet up with Shiomi and the others.
Within the living sphere, along the route Shiomi's team had taken, they had cut off control over a quarter of the Leylines that ran through the two domains combined. The result was that both the Realm of Survival and the Realm of Slaughter had been thrown into near chaos.
They were slowly returning to their original state, but they could not keep up with Shiomi's pace.
The initial area Taigong Wang and Nikitich had been holding, under constant pressure from encirclement and contest, also began to ease as the erosion deepened.
The moment Taigong Wang received word that Shiomi's group had reached the center, he immediately brought Nikitich over.
"That was fast. Some kind of Age of Gods secret art?" Shiomi asked with a grin.
"You could say it's a form of Earth Release," Taigong Wang replied. "Shrinking the earth to an inch, traveling a thousand miles in a day."
"…You could at least have told us," Shiomi said, nearly exasperated. "If I could use that, we'd have moved even faster."
Taigong Wang laughed heartily.
"My apologies. It's a type of Thought Magecraft. Without the ability to connect to the Thought Foundation, Tenkei-dono wouldn't be able to use Earth Release even if he understood the principles."
"You can still share the theory," Shiomi said, flashing a refreshing smile with a hint of pride. "We have a super genius Magus on our side. We'll figure something out."
"No problem. Once we resolve matters here, I'll pass on the theory behind Earth Release," Taigong Wang agreed readily. "Since we've met, let's call it academic exchange."
The two shared a knowing smile before turning toward PB.
"We're from Chaldea. I am Tenkei Shiomi, Master of Chaldea. This is my wife, Morgan, my mentor Scáthach, and my knight, Artoria Pendragon."
It had been a long time since Shiomi introduced himself like this. With an outsider present, he adjusted his phrasing slightly.
He stole a glance at Artoria. From her expression, she clearly liked that way of being introduced.
"A knight? Like Lancelot and Guinevere?" Morgan teased softly near his ear.
Shiomi fell silent for a moment before reluctantly replying, "…Yeah. I suppose so."
He then continued.
"These two are Heroic Spirits assisting Chaldea, Taigong Wang and Nikitich. That should be sufficient, PB."
"Thank you for the information. Although you did not make an appointment, the President has designated your visit as a special case. Regardless of when you arrived, you would have been treated as the highest priority."
PB maintained a calm and courteous tone, like a reception doll designed only to greet visitors, offering no unnecessary reaction.
"Please follow me through the main entrance. Our company provides services tailored to our clients' expectations. You could describe us as an armed group. The headquarters building's defense system is flawless. Large and small gun-beasts have been embedded within the construction materials, achieving firepower equivalent to a tank battalion. Please do not leave my side."
As PB walked ahead and explained, it slowly introduced NFF's situation and reminded them not to deviate from the designated path.
Clearly, PB had no idea that Shiomi and his group together could rival another tank battalion.
"Embedding combat beasts into the walls…" Shiomi murmured as he walked beside Morgan.
"They are all born from this Reality Marble. They belong to Koyanskaya. However she chooses to use them is perfectly reasonable," Morgan replied with a nod. "She must be keeping them in an active state through some method. You can feel the Mana response just by passing by."
"So we're being invited into a trap," Scáthach said lightly, hands clasped behind her back. "Getting inside this building was easy. Whether getting out will be just as simple is another matter."
"Stay ready for battle at any moment."
Artoria clenched her fists as she spoke.