Chapter Four: The Evil of This World

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My name is Patient Zero.
I fled with a system into the Type-Moon world.
69999:59:59
To avoid being wiped from the recycle bin, I started a new game with this half-broken, foolish system.
After a dizzy, nauseous sensation, I found myself no longer in that recycle bin.
Looking around, it seemed I was in space; all around me were dazzling yet unreachable stars, and I stood right there.
Though there was nothing around, I still felt solid ground beneath my feet. Attempting to step forward seemed possible, but without any reference point, I couldn't be sure if I really moved.
So, where to begin?
As if sensing my thoughts, a faint blue light suddenly appeared in the void before me, instantly expanding into a giant sphere nearly a person’s height.
I instinctively stepped back, and golden points of light appeared on the blue sphere, rapidly sketching a pattern that grew more complex and faster by the second.
Judging by the outline, it looked like... a world map?
Eventually, the sphere transformed into a globe composed of golden lines outlining oceans, continents, and nations. Just as I was about to complain about its simplicity, it radiated with blinding light.
In the next moment, it became a realistic Earth, with oceans, continents, and clouds in the sky exactly like those photographed by satellites or astronauts.
Of course, in reality, there wouldn’t be a version of me this large standing there.
After the miniature Earth formed, countless ice-blue lines radiated outward from its center, spreading far and then orbiting the mini Earth in perfect, non-overlapping paths, forming a hollow oblate cylindrical structure. I and the small Earth were positioned in the empty space at its center.
At last, there was a sense of spatial dimension... so this means I can expand this space?
[Notification: World generation complete.]
A familiar mechanical female voice sounded, and on the front of the mini Earth appeared a transparent rectangular button resembling ice or amber, displaying a background of red digits steadily decreasing.
The four ominous characters written on the button read—
Doomsday Approaches!
How foolish! What kind of mood does someone have to be in to click this?
“Stupid Gaia system! Show yourself!” I scanned around but found no red cube, then shouted at the mini Earth.
[I’m not stupid...] came the system’s boyish voice. At that moment, ripples like water appeared on the mini Earth’s surface, and the red cube slowly emerged in the middle of the Pacific Ocean: [Also, my name is Gaia; system is a classification. You wouldn’t call others ‘so-and-so human’ before, right?]
Hmm... by that logic, should I say—?
“Stupid system!” I glared at it.
[Waaah...] The Gaia system began to cry, realizing it had dug its own hole.
“Stop whining. Tell me how to collect those so-called elements,” I said, pointing at the nearly unbearable button. “And what’s with the countdown?”
[That is the remaining time until this world’s destruction, counting down along its own trajectory. Pressing that button means intervening now. Normally, doomsday elements would be deployed, but since none exist, we have to simulate with source code.] The red cube floated beside the foolish button, swaying as it spoke: [Alaya, what kind do you want? Bacteria, viruses, parasites? Or monsters, tectonic movements, or aliens?]
[Notification: The stronger the initial doomsday element simulation, the more source code required,] the mechanical female voice added: [It’s recommended to choose the plague type and collect points during gameplay to evolve its power.]
“Hmm... not in a rush. Let me see how this world is supposed to be destroyed according to the original trajectory.” I stared at the huge globe.
It’s better to have a goal for targeted action.
[Let me see... The doomsday element for this world is called ‘The Evil of This World.’]
Oh, so it’s—wait a second!
Before I could complain, the system cube floated to East Asia on the globe and tapped the archipelago there. A pure white screen unfolded, but before it fully expanded, brilliant golden light burst forth.
“Oath—of the Sword of Victory!”
69998:54:33
The Knight of the Yangtze, a looping gymnast, popsicles, 3D sea demons, and the Three Kings’ debate.
Upon hearing that “curry stick,” I instantly recalled a flood of keywords from this world that seemed quite unreliable.
Although I could now be certain which world this was, I still watched the segment displayed on the screen.
The dazzling golden light destroyed a cup, then a “hole” opened in the sky, from which countless pitch-black mudslides poured down, destroying everything they touched until the entire city was engulfed in flames.

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Unfortunately, apart from the cold female voice at the start, there were no other images or voices of people.
It was indeed the Fourth Holy Grail War, but—
“Is such a small fire enough to destroy the world?” I glanced at the system cube.
[Well... actually...] The red cube swirled nervously in place.
Are you about to spiral out of control?
[Notification: This game world’s size is equal to the area of Fuyuki City.] The female voice promptly reminded me.
...So this huge sphere is 99% false advertising?
[Anyway, as long as it doesn’t leak out before the countdown ends...] The system imp shyly changed the subject: [To avoid damaging the Holy Grail incident, or you could even obtain the Holy Grail yourself, ultimately we’ll all get ‘The Evil of This World.’]
“Hm? I thought interference was only possible through temporary doomsday elements, but it sounds like I can participate directly?” I decided to let it slide for now. “In what form?”
[Hehe, you know the Root Spiral, right?] The system suddenly sounded proud.
According to the Type-Moon setting, outside of the main world there is something called the Root Spiral,
the ultimate goal all magi dream of, a mythical place no human can truly reach in a lifetime.
Humans who reach the Root Spiral grasp the fundamental cause and laws of all things in the world.
Though the Type-Moon main world’s actual nature is unknown, as the creator of this temporary world, that place must be—
[It’s right here~ So you can be summoned as a Heroic Spirit.]
69987:43:02
I reviewed the original novel, animation, encyclopedias, and related materials.
Since the timeline is somewhat distant, remembering the order of events is nearly impossible,
and I need to record key event nodes.
All works where protagonists gain “precognition” through “time travel,” “rebirth,” or “reincarnation” face one choice:
follow the original plot or disrupt it. The former lets you maintain a prophet’s superiority and intervene only at critical moments, the latter means facing a “restraining force” seeking to restore the plot’s original course.
Whether this restraining force is due to the author’s limited writing or editorial intervention, its strength determines how far the protagonist can go.
For example: “In a known Three Kingdoms world, Cao Cao was assassinated on the spot by Dong Zhuo when presenting the Seven-Star Sword. What is the 215 AD map of forces?”
In a world with strong restraining force, a similarly domineering ruler likely replaces him, so the power distribution remains unchanged.
In a world with weak restraining force, unification might have occurred long ago, the technology tree advanced, maybe even the Americas discovered.
Since I am now within the Root Spiral, the two great restraining forces of the Type-Moon world—Alaya and Gaia—are me and this foolish system.
We have no intention of preserving the plot and plan to take away The Evil of This World.
Ask about this world’s psychological shadow impact.
“Then, let’s begin.”
I poked the “Doomsday Approaches” button disdainfully. It rolled and transformed into a larger screen.
[Notification: Please select doomsday element.] The female voice prompted.
There was no choice; other options were garbled. Only “Generate from source code” was lit.
“Generate plague type. Oh, and it should look good.”
Though I’d returned most biological knowledge to the teacher, I still remembered that bacteria and viruses don’t look pretty.
The screen spun rapidly while three rings circled it horizontally, then the rings suddenly contracted and exploded into white light.
On the slowly stopping screen appeared a pattern:
a translucent blue crystal-like serpentine creature, with long whiskers, dorsal fin, and tail fin.
[Notification: Doomsday element generation successful. Acquired special parasite: Mana Floating Dragon.]
69985:25:07
Since there was plenty of time, I’d drop the doomsday element to create a home base, albeit a small one.
I glanced again at the giant false-advertising Earth and sighed, then poked the red balloon-shaped play button floating above Fuyuki, Japan.
[Notification: ‘PAX-201’ has infected the first human in Japan. It is currently unstable; please use DNA points to evolve it for wider infection.]

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Ah, I forgot to rename it and reused the last code.
“By the way, who’s that prompt voice? Does it have self-awareness?”
I watched a red dot appear on the map and asked the system, feeling this voice seemed more reliable than the foolish system.
[It’s just world information feedback; it has no self-awareness.]
The boy’s voice sounded a bit excited. Is it that happy just because someone is playing?
[Notification: Japan is a developed country with high-quality medical equipment. You must evolve—]
The mechanical female voice suddenly faltered and began to report errors.
[Notification: ‘PAX-201’ has lost control, error detected.]
The world map abruptly zoomed in, making me dizzy, stopping finally at the city scale.
This city was divided in half by a river: the left side a rustic village, the right side dense with modern skyscrapers.
The blinking red dot was on the left bank near the hills, clearly a large mansion.
“Ah, even though it’s a special parasite, it’s still a parasite, so that makes sense.” After searching who owned that mansion, I rolled my eyes.
[Notification: Error detected.]
The prompt repeated several times before a video window popped up on the globe.
“[Who are you...?]”
On screen was a bald, gaunt old man with deep-set eyes and a hunchback.
I had to admit, transforming 2D characters into 3D retains high recognizability even if the style isn’t photorealistic. This real-life old man resembled the original Worm Master astonishingly, reminding me of the live-action Bald Strong character I once saw.
He wore an old-style kimono in blue and dark gray, holding a wooden cane in one hand, and raising something as if taking a selfie with the other.
Taking a selfie? In this era, no smartphones existed; clearly, he was observing the infection source we had released.
Tch, if I had used bacteria or viruses this time, how could it be detected?
“Foolish system, activate simultaneous translation.”
[No such function... Also, I’m not stupid...]
“[HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!]”
The old man—no, Zōken Matō—seemed to have discovered something and suddenly burst into manic laughter, no translation needed for that.
“[Kongen, kongen...]”
[Notification: ‘Root’] the mechanical female voice translated.
With a splash, the video went black.
Unpleasant rustling noises continued, so I closed the window.
“The first infected human is him? You stupid system! That old man is a worm himself!”
[The first infected should be the ‘Patient Zero’ most suited to spreading the infection in that world... I’m not stupid...]
“Hearing my own name at a time like this feels strange.”
I shook my head and tapped the mini Earth.
“Hey, Miss Prompt? Stop obsessing over system errors. Just drop another one.”
[Notification: Without using DNA points, ‘PAX-201’ has autonomously mutated with ‘Expansion Magic Circuit’ symptom.]
[Notification: Without using DNA points, ‘PAX-201’ has autonomously mutated with ‘Modified Magic Attribute’ symptom.]
[Notification: Without using DNA points, ‘PAX-201’ has autonomously mutated with ‘Self-generated Mana’ symptom.]
...Autonomous mutation my foot!