Since I’m already a week late.
Been a bit since I was forced to do this eh? Real life got in the way hard and I’ll leave the excuses to be discussed in the weekly music post. Let’s get through this as things get exciting as the mystery comes to a close.
Waver makes an interesting point about how he never saw anyone resembling Hephaestion within Iskandar’s Ionian Hetairoi if she was truly who she’s says she is. Melvin bursts into the room to announce that he was able to convince the auction to be delayed until midnight, giving Waver around half the day to figure everything out. Waver visits Olga to recruit her assistance once again and she lashes out with her own insecurities about hating people like him who are recognized for their achievements. Waver corrects her however, and shares his tale about how he’s simply a survivor. Instead of confronting his problems head on, he took the cowardly way out of committing theft on his instructor. Now instead he wishes to face his problems head on and come out as the victor, and he asks if Olga wishes to do the same, and she agrees. Elsewhere, Kairi pulls Flat and Svin out of class on Reine’s orders.
Olga shares what she knows from her father’s study of the Holy Grail War and her musings on after-images and illusions inspires Waver on the right direction. Waver contacts Luvia and exchanges future lessons for her cooperation. Olga lets Waver use one of her families virtual leyline viewer and he pinpoints the true question to pursue in the form of “why” is Hephaestion acting like she is the real one. Waver then asks Olga to bring out the object Adashino had omitted from her deductions, being the necklace Trisha was wearing. The auction finally begins and mid-way through, Waver asks for Melvin’s full commitment to try and lead the auction to the time he’ll reveal his deductions. When he does, he reveals that the true perpetrator used Frampton and Trisha’s meeting against them to frame the former and also reveals that Adashino was only acting in opposition.
Turns out that the Caules that had boarded the train with Grey and Waver was a fake all along, and the real one was promptly rescued by Reines, Flat, Luvia, Kairi, and Svin and transported to the train as this revelation occurs. The fake Caules, Doctor Heartless, a department head in the Clock Tower, studied the Holy Grail War with Marisbury Animusphere and indeed utilized an unconscious Frampton to commit murders. While Animusphere despaired at the grail’s inability to grant wishes, Heartless created one using both the Rail Zeppelin and Ainnash on the same leyline to create a distortion. The last piece he needed was Waver as well as his relic, a remainder of the previous Grail War to create a connection to the real grail. In the end, Trisha’s death was simply to mask his identity until the ordeal was over and obtain Frampton’s mystic eyes.
Pleasantries come to an end as Heartless uses his command seal to summon Hephaestion, who quickly incapacitates Adashino. Waver condemns the system Heartless has made as fake and similarly, Heartless had classified his servant’s class as Faker to mirror this. Hephaestion isn’t who she is at all, she’s but an non-existent and nameless figure taking Iskandar’s place. The two are instructed to take the fight outside of the auction room and as they meet outside, Waver demands the return of his relic which Heartless promptly does. Waver’s call-outs against Faker however get her to fight back, causing Heartless to respond in kind as he resummons Ainnash. Help from all sides assist Waver as Frampton returns with his eyes restored due to the auctions cancellation, fending off Faker. Olga helps this time around with a spell that rains down magic against the forest and the Ainnash core itself is destroyed by the Rail Zeppelin’s weapons system. The last fight comes down to Grey and Faker where the latter uses her own mystic eyes to kick Frampton out of the way and as she tries to kill Gray, Waver tosses Trisha’s charm to distract Faker’s eyes for Grey to land a blow. The time for the final clash comes as Faker charges with her chariot and Grey struggles to unleash her final attack. Frampton reassures her and Add tells Grey to finally let the world know what she desires to do. Grey swears to protect those she cares about and Rhongomyniad annihilates Faker’s chariot
Lair of the Idle 