1 The end and beginning of a certain boy

"Huhh... I can't believe... it turned out like this..."

My name is Yukito Sorano, just a regular otaku high school boy you'd find anywhere. But now, I'm lying on the ground—more precisely, sprawled on the road. Around me, a crimson-black liquid oozed, and my head and body suffered severe injuries. I vaguely felt it was beyond salvation.

"Hey! That car just hit someone!"

"Seriously!? Where, where!?"

"Someone! Call an ambulance!"

Voices of people who happened to be nearby reached me. Yes, as someone said, I'd been struck by a car.

It happened in the evening, on my way back from school, stopping by the supermarket to do some shopping. Nothing unusual, just confirming the pedestrian signal turned green and crossing the crosswalk normally. Then a car came speeding towards me. Engrossed in checking the items I'd bought, adjusting them in the bag to prevent them from spilling, I hadn't noticed the car until the last moment, and in a blink, I was thrown. And that led to the current situation.

"If I had to die trying to save someone... it'd still be okay, but... to die like this... it's really unbearable..."

Groaning slightly, I managed a faint smile. Gradually, the voices around me faded. Perhaps I was reaching my limit. As I began to feel no pain, what appeared in my mind, likely a flashback, were memories of my life and... regrets and attachments.

"Haha... Maybe I got too carried away today, thinking my body felt good... I shouldn't have... made a detour like this..."

I've always had a weak constitution since birth. I frequently fell ill, and I've been hospitalized not just once or twice.

There were times I tried to improve my physique, but I eventually gave up. I ended up mostly observing during physical education class at school.

Despite such a body, occasionally there were days when I felt fine, like today. On those days, indulging in my favorite food was my secret pleasure.

Hence, I bought various things at the supermarket to cook, as it had become a hobby born out of that enjoyment. But... I was so elated that I ignored the signal, and this is how I ended up, completely unaware of the car that crashed into me.

"If only I had a normal body, would this have happened? I don't know if there'll be a next time, but... if I could be reborn, I want to be born with a reasonably strong body... one that doesn't fall ill, a healthy body..."

[Searching for 'a reasonably strong body'... search complete. Confirming. Reincarnating as a member of the Dragonewt race.]

[Confirmed. Acquired 'Status Ailment Immunity'... success.]

"Huh, was that...? Did I hear something just now...?"

I slowly moved my head slightly. I felt like I heard a strange voice, but there was no one around who seemed to be the source of the voice.

"An auditory hallucination...? Well, whatever... It doesn't matter anymore since I'm going to die... No, but... I wanted to see 'Randall's SSR form' before dying..."

'Randall' is a character from the smartphone game provided by Cygames, known as "Granblue Fantasy."

Among the various races in the game, he's a boy belonging to the "Human" race, characterized by a rough attitude and a somewhat muscular nature. However, despite that, he's reasonable and not a bad person. Rather, he's just a good guy.

His hair is pink, tied up in a ponytail. He fights primarily with kicks as a martial artist. And with his character voiced by Wataru Hatano, it's hard not to root for him. Just to clarify, I'm neither into guys nor a hardcore fangirl. I just like handsome guys.

However, despite being my top favorite male character, for some reason, he doesn't have the highest rarity SSR. Even though his rival, Feather, has an SSR version implemented... why is that... perhaps he's not as popular.

I've been asked by friends, "Why Randall?" but once you've fallen for someone, there's no going back. You don't need a reason to support someone, probably.

[Confirmed information on 'Randall' from memory. Based on the confirmed information, a new vessel for the soul will be created... Successful.]

"That's right... Speaking of which, haven't I still not been able to go see the FGO movie...? Because I've been busy, and various things happened..."

FGO... formally titled 'Fate/Grand Order'... the first smartphone game in the Fate series by TYPE-MOON, and the movie adaptation of this FGO was recently released.

The title is "Fate/Grand Order Final Singularity - Grand Temple of Time: Solomon." It's a visual adaptation of the final chapter of this work's Part 1.

There are several highlights in the final chapter, but personally, what I wanted to see was the scene where the heroic spirits I encountered in each chapter throughout the journey came together for the final battle. A scene I absolutely wanted to see in the movie... or to put it more strongly, I wanted to see the appearance of a particular heroic spirit.

That heroic spirit is the Avenger, the Count of Monte Cristo—Edmond Dantès.

Commonly known as the "Count of Monte Cristo" or "Gankutsuou," he's probably the most famous figure as a 'revenant' in the world.

In 'Fate/Grand Order,' he was implemented as the first Avenger servant in the game. He holds the highest rank of ☆5.

His debut was in a collaboration event with another Type-Moon work, 'The Garden of Sinners,' and then he appeared as an enemy in the high-difficulty quest 'The Return of the Avenger in the Prison Tower Cries.' Although in the former, he only appeared as a silhouette, and in the latter, he can't be fully considered an enemy... rather, it's more appropriate to say he's an ally.

At first, he seemed to test and mock the protagonist, but after being isolated in the prison tower and enduring the hardships and absurdities, he was charmed by the protagonist's unwavering determination and started treating them favorably.

After the event, he frequently appeared in the main story, albeit sporadically, diligently assisting the protagonist in restoring the order of the world, safeguarding the protagonist's spirit in various ways due to his unique nature and existence.

Therefore, not only in reality but also in the protagonist's dreams (or dream-like spaces), he often serves the role of giving warnings and advice to the protagonist, making him a very reliable companion.

Honestly, at first, I also thought he was just an enemy. But as the story progressed and I interacted with him, I gradually started liking him. His relentless way of living, possessing a spirit as unbreakable as steel yet having a gentle heart... plus, his appearance is impeccable, making him invincible.

I repeat, I'm not into that. Indeed, he's extremely popular among women, but he's also popular among men... or so I'd like to believe.

By the way, I call him 'Edo.' I always play with this setting in my mind where even Fujimaru refers to him that way, and they get along very well.

And this Edo, the Count of Monte Cristo. When explaining all this to someone who doesn't know much about FGO, they might say, "Is he just a mental care servant with a good face and a good heart?"... but in reality, his combat abilities are also quite high.

Not only does he have fairly high basic stats, but above all, his Noble Phantasm is powerful.

Edo's Noble Phantasm is set to have three forms, of which only one is used in the game... but even using just that one is incredibly powerful.

The name of that Noble Phantasm is "Anfer Château d'If, Roar and Blaze, O' Tiger."

It's the manifestation of the steel spirit cultivated in the Château d'If, turning into his Noble Phantasm. It achieves super high-speed movement that subjectively seems as if time has stopped by performing super high-speed thinking and forcibly reflecting it onto the body... and astonishingly, it can even escape from intangible prisons like time and space.

Though it's unclear whether magical (?) prisons can be pierced through, it's a considerably cheat-like Noble Phantasm.

Honestly, I think he's stronger than Artoria. I said that to a friend who loves Artoria (an Artoria fan), and it caused a little argument.

"Ha...haha...in a situation like this, what am I even thinking... but if I had the kind of power Ed has, I could easily overcome this kind of predicament... But more importantly, it's insanely cool... I wanted to see Ed in action..."

[Confirmed. Acquired 'Mental Attack Resistance'... successful.]

[Confirmed. Acquired Unique Skill, 'Avenger's Thorned Being'... successful.]

[Confirmed. Acquired Unique Skill, 'Escapee's Evasive Being'... successful.]

Once again, someone's voice echoed. However, I could no longer hear it well. It seems like I'm reaching my limit.

"But... did I hit my head too hard? To meet my end while hearing such incomprehensible hallucinations... what a strange end..."

With a slight upward curve of my lips, my consciousness slipped into darkness.

Eventually, I couldn't hear anything, couldn't see anything, my heartbeat ceased, and then─

"Goooooo...!"

"─────Huh?"

I was in the sky.

I have no idea why this is happening, not even a clue. But I am truly in the sky. Wait, seriously, why...? I was lying on the ground just now, on the verge of death, and...

"...Huh? The sky?"

By the way, the sound from earlier was the sound of slicing through the wind. What was cutting through it was me, and how was I doing it...

I was moving by cutting through the air from top to bottom. Or rather──I was falling.

"Huh?! Eh, wha...? Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!??"

By the time I realized it, it was too late, or rather, even if I had realized it, there was nothing I could have done.

Completely unable to comprehend my current situation, I screamed and continued to fall toward the sprawling green ground.

Well, this is something we'll find out later. The screams of this boy sadly didn't reach anyone. However, there were those who witnessed the boy's appearance. More accurately, there was a dazzling flash that probably occurred when the boy was transmigrated to the sky of another world.

"Huh? Hey, what's that light? It's pretty close."

Firstly, there was an outcast from the Ogre Tribe. A malicious entity associating with another man from the same tribe, exuding ill intent.

"Whoa?! Something just flashed! What in the world...?"

The second was a demonic being wearing a mask, ordered by a certain small-time individual to soar through the 'Jura Great Forest' where the boy fell.

And the third was───

"Oh? What's that light... Hmm, it's a bit far, but it's intriguing. Perhaps I should explore that area tomorrow."

Among those who witnessed the light, she boasted the most overwhelming power, an enchanting female hermit with beautiful azure hair denser than this sky!

Oh, sorry. I forgot. There was still one more.

"Hmm! What is that light?! Hehehe, perhaps it's the Jura Great Forest celebrating... the birth of a strong one in this land, the renowned and named 'Gabiru'!!!"

A boastful lizard, always in high spirits.