You are very strong, but my painting style is better than yours!

Gudako... This is a nickname used only by a few close friends and family members.

But this "Susanoo" and Ritsuka should have only met a few times, so their bond shouldn't be this deep... Why are they calling each other so affectionately?

Getia suddenly felt a little uneasy, as if her daughter had met a male friend outside without her knowing.

Of course, he doesn't have a family in the conventional sense, and he won't be swayed by such a thing. After all, Fujimaru Ritsuka is not an important person to him. He only stays in the present world and wanders in various singularities and Lostbelts because he wants to see how tragic her ending will be.

It's just affection for a pet at most.

Yes, even if you have a pet cat or dog, you wouldn't want them to have contact with stray dogs outside, right?

"If I'm not mistaken, you are not the Demon King Goetia of this timeline, but the [Human King] from the timeline that Long-Haired Gudako once conquered, the Goetia of her timeline who has already failed once in the Temple of Time!"

Iori murmured to herself as she gazed at the brilliant night sky, "But I'm really curious, Chaldea has completely deviated from its original course, going from correcting history to actively creating distortions in history in order to prolong the existence of various world lines..."

In your view, isn't this a very pathetic and ugly struggle?

Since destruction is inevitable, accept it gracefully, or embrace it with the fervor of a moth drawn to a flame, rather than fight tooth and nail to survive even when battered and bruised—isn't that the aesthetic of your Goetia?

"Don't act like you know me so well."

A figure appeared in the sky, but it was not "King Solomon" dressed in magnificent robes. Instead, it was a handsome brown-skinned man in a somewhat tattered uniform, barefoot, with disheveled hair.

Compared to her arrogant and domineering kingly demeanor, Goetia now exudes a mysterious aura tinged with...melancholy?

It's amazing how a person's temperament can change so drastically; even Iori was amazed.

"As a Servant, your strength is not bad, but in my eyes it is still not worth mentioning."

Rude words will not give you an advantage; on the contrary, they will put you in danger.

"What do you mean?"

"I will kill you!"

Despite his melancholy demeanor, he retained his fierceness; the murderous intent emanating from his golden eyes was anything but a joke.

But Iori didn't tremble in fear or kneel down to beg for mercy. Instead, she chuckled lightly, feeling much more at ease.

Determined and capable people don't make empty boasts; if they really want to do something, they've already done it long before they even make a declaration.

If Goetia wanted to eliminate someone, it wouldn't be "wanting to kill" but rather "already killing" them.

He certainly wouldn't take action. Although it's still uncertain about his attitude towards Chaldea and Gudako, it's almost certain that he's not the mastermind behind this incident... Iori is more inclined to regard him as a "suspicious ally."

He might even need Iori's help!

Meanwhile, outside the Temple of Time—

"I'm really disappointed in you, Mash Kyrielight... In the end, you're just a puppet bound by common sense. I shouldn't have had any expectations of you."

He glanced coldly at Mash and Ritsuka. Solomon had just defeated all the Chaldea Servants in just thirty seconds, leaving only Reines by Ritsuka and Mash's side, but she was already teetering on the brink of collapse.

But at this point, he suddenly gave up the attack and turned around: "How disappointing. There is no need to stay in this era anymore."

He then turned and was about to leave into the endless darkness, leaving the three survivors stunned.

Are we really going to let them go? They were clearly at the point where we could easily crush them...

No, that's precisely why they don't care about their lives... It's truly infuriating!

"Hey, you guy-"

"Why!"

The girl's voice interrupted Ritsuka, and Reines looked in surprise at the Demi-Servant holding the shield.

“Why would you do such a thing?!”

Mashu, unable to understand or accept it, questioned the ruthless king: "Why destroy humanity... No one will be happy because of this, what is the point of doing such a thing?"

Solomon stopped and turned his head to look at the girl with pity and indifference.

"Since you humans yourselves have no meaning, isn't it only natural to give meaningless destruction to meaningless things?"

What have you humans accumulated over these thousands of years? What wonderful things have you left for this planet?

No, you are just endlessly going through the same mundane, repeating the cycle of birth and death, unable even to see your own doomed future, beyond redemption; you are merely ignorantly and narrowly continuing your reproduction.

He paused for a moment, then a wild, unrestrained laugh spread across the man's face.

"But...yes, if I had to give a personal reason, it would probably be that it was very enjoyable."

"...pleasure?"

"Of course, your wails, your death throes, your struggles give me pleasure. Otherwise, why would I go to the trouble of killing humans one by one?"

"Well!"

Everyone was speechless, but Mash and Ritsuka felt a physiological aversion to this pure "evil," while Reines understood something and suddenly felt terrified.

The arrogance of a king leaves one speechless; at the very least, Chaldea currently lacks the confidence to refute it.

"I...I won't give up!"

Before Solomon's appearance, Chaldea only had to face seven singularities and the possible existence of demonic pillars. But now they finally realize that even if they achieve these goals, they are only qualified to begin the real path to saving humanity.

But Ritsuka didn't seem to have given up hope. This girl's spirit was incredibly resilient, even though she was neither a warrior nor a believer.

"Pointless."

King Solomon-Goetia glanced at it and said coldly, "Go ahead and try, you poor thing... In the end, a person who can't even save himself is just delusional to think he can save the world."

"Your extraordinary power... Is a [Grand] Servant really that powerful? Perhaps there are other factors involved as well!"

Reines was really risking her life, asking such a sensitive question at the last moment.

However, Goetia did not answer directly.

"Accept this despair and slowly enjoy the process of being burned by the flames, the last remnants of human history."

Before leaving, Solomon glanced at the three Chaldea members one last time, then his eyes flickered as he looked at Mash. It was unclear what he was thinking, but he simply let out a cold snort and stepped into the darkness.

"Om-!"

The deep vortex of darkness twisted and disappeared amidst the turbulence of space.

Starting with Solomon's departure, the entire singularity began to tremble violently, and an irresistible force of historical restoration was attempting to bring history back to its original course.

It was at this moment that communications from Chaldea were suddenly restored, and the voices of Roman, Leonardo da Vinci, and others came through. Without saying much, they told everyone to prepare for the spirit transfer.

Ritsuka stared silently at the void where Solomon had left, not even noticing the light of the spirit particle transfer beginning to appear.

The shock lingered in her heart for a long time, but as she left the London singularity, a thought suddenly flashed through her mind:

Susanoo seems to have been transported to another dimension by the enemy. I hope he's alright.

However, there's nothing Ritsuka can do right now. She can only comfort herself, since she is a Servant and even if she is killed, she should return to the Throne of Heroes.

If fate allows, she will eventually meet that person again...

The Temple of Time, the Star of Perception, Amon.

The phantom in the sky gradually solidified, and a powerful pressure emanated from it, causing the entire temple space to tremble.

"Alright, now let's talk about how to save the world, Berserker."

"I don't understand..."

Iori sat lazily on the ground, not caring about her image, and instead of looking directly at Goetia, she gazed at the dazzling and mesmerizing starry sky in the distance.

"With you here, why was Chaldea attacked?"

The other Servants, whether it's the King of Heroes or Rama, could be said to have their powers sealed by that 'slot machine,' but you're different, right? To say you're powerless to intervene because of a curse makes me want to laugh."

After saying that, he actually curled the corners of his mouth and sneered twice, while Goetia in the sky remained silent.

Since no one responded, Iori continued on her own: "I felt something was wrong from the beginning. If it were Chaldea in a normal timeline, it would be possible for it to be attacked and conquered because of the limitation of magical resources."

But this Chaldea game has been completed countless times; in terms of gameplay, it's like the Ten Mile Slope Sword God who has played through countless times... Not to mention magical resources, its various advanced technologies far surpass those of other timelines.

Furthermore, as someone who has saved humanity more than once, they should at least possess bonds with King Hassan, Tiamat, Sesshouin, and Kama… Could it be that they haven't summoned any of them? If even one of them were present, it would be highly unlikely that they would be affected by any curse.”

"So what conclusion did you draw?"

Goetia's tone was somewhat cold.

"We don't have enough intelligence, but this incident itself can reveal a lot, the most important point being—[the protagonist]."

"main character?"

"That's right, where exactly is our Chaldea's protagonist—Fujimaru Ritsuka?"

Iori said almost interrogatively, "Although there are countless heroes and gods in Chaldea, they are undoubtedly not the center of the story. The one who should step forward, form a contract with me, clear the dungeons all the way up, and finally turn the tide... should be that Master!"

But why hasn't she shown up yet? Most strangely, none of these Servants seem to care about their Master's safety...

The only possibility I can think of is that many Servants actually foresaw this incident, and... it's related to their favorite Master!

"...Brilliant reasoning."

After a moment of silence, Goetia chuckled and said, "Your title of Berserker is a bit undeserved."

"Thank you for the compliment. People often say that."

~~~~~

Chapter 296 Old Gai, you've got some nerve, haven't you!

"I have nothing to tell you. The only reason I showed myself was because I was interested in your strength and wanted to test my abilities."

I won't help you save Chaldea. The observatory that existed to save the world has long since disappeared. All that remains here is a wasteland with countless tombstones. What you see is a tragic end, and no matter how hard you try, you can't change anything.

But... even so, if you still want to keep climbing, then accept this.

With a flick of his wrist, Goetia conjured a golden light into a card bearing the image of a magician, which was then sent to Iori's hand.

"Heroic Spirit Cards not only symbolize the bond with heroes, but they are also mythical magical artifacts made of immense magical power. They can even reproduce the Servant's Spirit Origin and Noble Phantasm... Such things would not be allowed in normal pan-human history."

is it?

Iori examined the Heroic Spirit cards in her hand, raising an eyebrow slightly.

The "anonymous spirit origins" in the game are round, resembling a ship's wheel or a plate, and are definitely not like cards. Of course, it is normal for reality and video game settings to differ.

However, this thing also appeared in "Fate/kaleid liner Prisma Illya", so it doesn't seem to be a Chaldea specialty... Wait, does this mean that "Fate/kaleid liner Prisma Illya" isn't actually a normal pan-human history?

"Besides the cards, is there any other parting gift?"

"……What did you say?"

Goetia paused for a moment.

"I had Servants helping me on the first two floors, aren't you going to do me a favor?"

Iori said quite frankly, "Just like in a level-based game, you always need to give us a few helpful items, right?"

Goetia looked at the young man in astonishment, unsure whether to call him audacious or simply having a peculiar way of thinking, for daring to "make demands" of him!

"I could crush you with a single finger. Do you really understand your current situation?"

"Indeed, your strength level is at least two or three realms higher than mine, like the difference between a tiger and a rabbit. If we really fought, I probably wouldn't even have a chance to fight back."

"You know that—"

"But for someone as 'weak' as me, you actually came to talk to me in person and even went to the trouble of setting up so many things to test my level... Isn't that a very strange thing?"

The tiger probably wouldn't care about the rabbit's strength, unless... it can't do certain things, but the rabbit can, so it needs to see if the rabbit is qualified.

Just like those great figures in history who treated assassins with the utmost courtesy, it wasn't that they lacked the strength themselves, but rather that they needed someone's help.

"..."

"Judging from this reaction, it was just as I expected."

What could possibly make Goetia waver was probably Mash or Gudako—this thought crossed Iori's mind, but she didn't say it outright.

He could hit the nail on the head with his words, but the objective difference in strength would not change because of his words. Goetia could indeed easily kill him. An incomplete third magic could never withstand "Great Light Wheel".

Although he's no longer the world-destroying demon, he still seems to be a tsundere. It's best to be careful not to provoke this "King of Men" too much—as everyone knows, tsunderes will launch a "suru-sai" attack when they have nothing to say.

A cute girl's stunt is adorable, but Goetia's stunt is likely to result in death...

"You mean even someone as omnipotent as me has things I can't do? How ridiculous!"

"The Demon King is indeed omnipotent, but after you took the doctor's 'Friendship Punch,' cough, you're no longer omnipotent after becoming the Human King—you're only three parts weaker after being whitewashed."