Chaldea, Central Command Room, Human Order Security Organization.
On the giant screen, the battle at Homurahara Academy continued through Fujimaru Ritsuka's perspective. The strongest hero of Greek myth, Heracles, the King of Knights from British legend, and the mightiest Valkyrie of Schicksal were still clashing in a world-shattering confrontation.
Raging gales mixed with shattered concrete fragments flew throughout the academy, brimming with terrifying destructive force, tearing apart anything that dared stand in their path.
"Saber is the King of Knights, and the other two have undoubtedly demi-god Spirit Origins: Berserker Heracles and the Foreigner-class Servant named Durandal."
"Foreigner—a special extra class, given to those who either draw their power from divine external influences or are directly possessed by gods."
Romani Archaman stared at the screen, which looked as if it might shake apart under the pressure of demi-god conflict. After a long silence, his face grew heavy with concern and he let out a sigh.
"Will Ritsuka and the others be alright? They're battling a Servant who, by all appearances, carries herself with righteousness and has not been corrupted. She doesn't have the traits of an Anti-Hero. In theory, we should be able to negotiate with her."
"Worrying won't help, Romani~ You can't go there yourself anyway. And even if you could, you'd just get in the way."
At that moment, a pair of slender arms reached around from behind Romani. Da Vinci made her flashy entrance, resting her gloved hands on her chin as she leaned comfortably on Romani like an old friend.
"Da Vinci! I told you, don't always do that!"
As the soft pressure pressed against the back of his head, Romani stiffened, then sprang up from his seat like a startled little bird, quickly turning his gaze toward the perfectly doll-like face beside him.
"Ara ara~ Don't mind me, Romanichan~"
Da Vinci drew out the final syllables of his name teasingly, and Romani's face flushed slightly red.
Nearby Chaldea staff simply looked away. They'd witnessed scenes like this too many times to be surprised anymore.
"Ahem, ahem!"
Romani quickly coughed to ease the awkwardness, sat back down with a scowl, and was about to launch into a lecture when—
"Report! A suspected shallow-focus earthquake has occurred in the southwestern sector of Fuyuki City... scanning for epicenter depth!"
With the staff's input, multiple smaller screens split off from the main one, and lines of data rapidly scrolled across them.
Romani choked on his words and immediately forgot about Da Vinci's overly intimate behavior, rushing up to the screen. "Analyze the source immediately!"
"Unbelievable as it sounds, the cause isn't natural! That means... wait!"
In the central control room, aligned with the pseudo-Earth environment model [Chaldeas], a string of urgent cries burst forth.
"Servant Spirit Origin detected!"
"These readings—they show divine traits...?!"
The tone of the operators grew rapidly more urgent.
In an instant, the lower section of the command deck exploded with activity.
"There's no doubt about it. It's a god-tier Spirit Origin—but oddly dim, like it's been tainted...."
Her voice trembled slightly as terrifying possibilities surfaced in her mind: divine reversal, anti-heroic evil gods, and worse.
"Within the unknown Spirit Origin signature, we've detected a match with the Avenger-class Beast Goddess Gorgon from the Seventh Singularity in Babylonia?!"
At that moment, another Chaldea staff member suddenly raised her head and looked toward Romani and Da Vinci at the command seat, speaking in a sharp tone: "No, we've also detected the Spirit Origin wave of the Creation Goddess Tiamat! It's a compound divine nature!"
The harrowing memories of the Grand Order's Seventh Singularity in Babylonia were still vivid. The battle to restore the foundation and defeat the [Beast of Regression]—Beast II, Tiamat—was not something they ever wanted to repeat.
"Gorgon? Tiamat? And it's a composite divinity?!" Da Vinci's voice also turned urgent.
While, in a sense, Gorgon and Tiamat were once defeated by Chaldea, the score couldn't be settled that easily. Even based on Da Vinci's shallow understanding of Lev, it was clear—if they had returned, they would be more dangerous than ever.
"The target is moving! Calculating route... its destination is... Homurahara Academy!!"
Bang!
"What?!"
Romani stood up again, pressing both hands against the table, a flash of unease in his eyes as emotional conflict surged across his face.
"Romani, don't overthink this. It's not your fault, nor is it something you can change."
Glancing subtly at Romani, whose emotions had become increasingly weighed down lately, Da Vinci gently patted his shoulder with her left mechanical arm and whispered in a cryptic tone.
"When trouble comes, you deal with it. From what we can see now, it's not impossible to find hope even in despair. Our chances of victory aren't low... right, Romani-chan?"
With that, Da Vinci issued the command: "Our top priority now is to inform Ritsuka—this next opponent is a god-tier being, on the level of the Creation Goddess Tiamat!"
...
Buzz Buzz
"Ritsuka! Watch out! A god-class Spirit Origin detected!"
"It's a god!"
Immediately following Da Vinci, Romani's near-shouting voice came through the comms: "The god's likely target is you! Protect yourself at all costs, Ritsuka!"
The anxiety in their voices was obvious.
"Da Vinci? Dr. Roman?! What's going on...?"
Crouching beside Illya, Ritsuka stared at his communicator in disbelief, then turned to exchange glances with Rin Tohsaka and Shirou Emiya.
Unlike the oblivious Shirou, who didn't even seem to understand what a Spirit Origin was, still wearing a look of confusion, Rin and Ritsuka's blue eyes flashed with simultaneous shock.
"A god-class Spirit Origin?! Are you kidding me?!"
Boom!
Amid the magical storm, Durandal suddenly stiffened, her expression darkening. She swung her lance, creating distance between herself and Berserker, then turned to face Mount Enzou.
"Your Majesty...."
Before she could finish, Homurahara Academy suddenly shook violently. The rumbling grew louder, the ground trembling incessantly.
"ROAR—!"
"Shirou!"
"Senpai!"
Sensing the approaching threat, Berserker, Saber, and Mash abandoned their assault on Durandal and sprinted toward their respective Master/Senpai.
Then—BOOM!!
A tremendous sound heralded the arrival of a massive entity. The explosive impact roared through the sky!
A violent shockwave flattened the surrounding ruins in an instant, blasting away everything like a raging tempest.
The explosion overtook all hearing. As Rin opened her mouth to speak, she suddenly felt the ground vanish beneath her feet. The next sensation was overwhelming weightlessness and a deafening roar.
An unstoppable force collapsed everything in sight, uprooting forests. The barrier Durandal had maintained was obliterated, and even the academy walls, roads, and houses outside were swept away in the surge.
The entire region's power grid collapsed. Streetlights winked out section by section, and much of the mountain town was swallowed by darkness.
"Waaah—Mash! Mash, are you okay? Cough cough... ugh..."
"Senpai... cough... I'm alright...."
Mash had plunged her enormous shield deep into the ground, carving a long trench through the debris to anchor herself. Even with the Spirit Origin of Round Table Knight Galahad supporting her, she was forced to one knee. Her limbs were numb, and her stomach churned violently.
And if Mash was in this state, then there was no need to mention Fujimaru Ritsuka, a mere "normal human." Supporting himself with his scraped and bloodied arms, his face was pale as he lay flat on the ground, dry heaving uncontrollably.
Though protected by Mash, being caught in that shockwave was like being thrown into a high-powered spin cycle—suffocating and dizzying beyond words.
"Rin... Ritsuka... are you two alright?"
Looking like a disaster victim, Shirou Emiya staggered to his feet despite being clearly dazed and battered, still concerned for others.
"Temporarily... yes."
Behind Saber, Rin Tohsaka pushed the rubble off her body, finally managing to lift her ghostly pale face and forced a clearly unconvincing smile toward Shirou.
"Just a bit... dizzy... I think I'm gonna—cough!"
"Whew—thank goodness, Ritsuka. You're okay."
A voice of relief came from the comms—the gentle, slightly anxious tone of Romani Archaman.
"Cough cough D-Dr. Roman?! What... what was that...?!"
"Oh? Still alive, little insect."
That unbelievably cold and arrogant voice cut through the air, freezing every heart on the battlefield.
Everyone turned toward the sound. Under the moonlight, the ground trembled, and the deep, rhythmic rumbling sparked a dread foreboding in the hearts of every conscious observer. Against that unseen force, the insignificance of humanity was overwhelming.
Whoosh—whoosh!
Like a revelation of the apocalypse, massive wings beat the air, revealing a towering figure over 100 meters tall hovering in the sky.
To humans averaging less than two meters in height, this was a primal fear—an instinct to flee from a natural disaster.
RUMBLE—!
A colossal tail dragged along the earth, reshaping the terrain with its every movement.
Staring at Selene's simultaneously familiar and terrifying form, Fujimaru Ritsuka could only mutter in a daze.
"Anna...."
"Rin... please tell me this thing is not part of the Holy Grail War. You said this would be nothing like this...."
Under the shadow of the giant deity, sweat beaded on Shirou's brow as he slowly turned his stiff neck.
"You're kidding me! T-This is a Servant?!"
Win the Holy Grail War? As if! This wasn't even in the same league!
Rin Tohsaka looked as if she'd been struck by lightning. Her brain had practically shut down... her eyes blank, lost in existential crisis. Who am I? Where am I? What am I supposed to do?
The massive face, inset with two glowing crimson orbs, slowly lowered. Through the faintly glowing scales, a massive shadow revealed itself partially in Chaldea's view.
And that was just half of its body. Most of the enormous snake-like tail remained concealed in darkness.
The colossal, upright feminine figure swayed with its flowing purple hair. Her serpentine head—formed of intertwined locks—was as terrifying as a truck-sized viper.
Selene leaned down, her cruel, bloodthirsty gaze locking onto the group huddled in the ruins below.
"Without a doubt, I am indeed a Servant—one summoned by your human desires to fulfill your wishes. A kind and benevolent Servant."
"Unfortunately, I do not stand with you."
Well, technically, Lev was human before becoming a Pillar Demon God, and Solomon—the one who created the demon god pillar ritual—was also human. So, rounding it out... it's not wrong.
Selene, after all, was just kindly helping Lev achieve his dream of restoring the Age of Gods. A good and merciful god, wasn't she?
"Gorgon!"
Back in Chaldea's control room, everyone looked utterly deflated, like wilted eggplants.
This Gorgon's size had far surpassed the one they encountered in the Seventh Singularity. Was it due to her acquisition of Tiamat's Authority that her growth was now unbounded?
"Benevolent? That Gorgon actually called herself kind...." Da Vinci muttered.
"Makes sense, Da Vinci. Most divine beings have worldviews very different from humans. To them, humans might be no more than fleeting creatures, and our nations merely playgrounds."
"Fair enough... But Romani," Da Vinci's tone grew uncharacteristically grave.
"This Gorgon with Tiamat's composite divinity must be defeated quickly. The longer she persists, the more her power will erode this world—and feed her further growth."
...
"Then, by the will of my Master."
Selene's smile never wavered. She raised a scaly hand, gently pressing her middle finger against her index.
Crack crack crack~
From her long violet hair, massive serpents formed and lowered their heads one by one. Tremendous magical energy gathered in their mouths, all aimed squarely at Fujimaru Ritsuka and the others in the rubble below.
Their jaws opened wide.
"Are you ready... to embrace death?"
A second later, in the moment of silence that followed—
A sharp snap echoed through the air.
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