The sky was pitch black.
This mythical battlefield, which had been torn apart countless tis by gods and great heroes, was now enveloped in an oppressively eerie silence.
Whether it was the great masters standing at the pinnacle of Heroic Spirits or the cold and ruthless Demon King, all eyes were focused on the black-haired young man who had suddenly intruded upon this forbidden land like a ghost.
Everything around was shrouded in darkness.
The surroundings were deathly silent, and a cold wind howled.
Tiamat slightly lowered her fierce and terrifying dragon head, quietly staring at the young man below with her colossal, dark beast-like eyes.
Although she had long since lost her sanity, a ripple of so emotion seed to linger deep within those eyes.
Soft, black, ssy hair swayed violently in the cold wind.
Matou Yuu raised his head, looking up from nearly a thousand ters below at the ancient being who had destroyed the world beyond recognition.
No… it could no longer be considered a living being in the conventional sense.
Tiamat, who had completely transford into a dragon, could only be described as a calamity and a monster.
A colossal body that tore through the sky, massive horns that pierced the heavens, and wings of light large enough to cover the sun…
This ferocious and terrifying form was completely different from the innocent girl in his mories—who had long blue hair, could only make cute "ah—" sounds, and liked to tightly hold his hand to experience the human world. These were two completely opposite extres.
They stood in the smoke-filled ruins, a thousand ters apart, silently staring at each other.
Matou Yuu stood quietly in the night wind, the corners of his mouth slowly rising as he imdiately wore the sa gentle smile he had when he first summoned her.
"Looks like you caused quite a commotion… Tiamat."
After speaking, he slightly turned his head, casually glanced at the Underworld gate that had opened below, then looked around at the Grand Heroic Spirits surrounding him.
Then the young man slowly extended his hand toward the ferocious monster soaring high in the sky, confronting the raging Sea of Life.
His posture was as if he wished to gently caress her face across a thousand ters of void.
"Don't worry… No matter what happens, I'm always on your side."
"AAAAAAAA——"
Hearing the young man's whisper carried by the wind, Tiamat high in the sky let out a low yet deeply resonant song of creation filled with endless lant and longing.
And then, a miracle occurred.
The violently surging Sea of Life suddenly seed to slow its flow at a certain mont.
Even the black mud that had been swallowing the earth like a dark tsunami stopped its outward expansion.
That was the only light remaining deep within Tiamat's heart. Using the last fragnt of rationality that had not yet been completely swallowed by her beast-lik" instincts, she forcibly reversed the torrent of magical energy that had been reshaping the planet.
However, as the price, Tiamat's colossal, mountain-like dragon body was tightly bound by countless invisible conceptual chains.
To maintain this extre state of restraint, the sky-covering figure remained suspended in midair, unable to move even a single step.
"To unconsciously suppress the Beast's expansion this much…?"
Goetia was slightly surprised by this illogical sight, but imdiately shook his head coldly.
"But it's already too late... Even if she tries to restrain herself now, the overflow of the Sea of Life has already exceeded her own control."
The mont Tiamat abandoned her human form and fully descended as Beast II, there was no going back.
The Sea of Life was not an ordinary magic that could be freely activated or deactivated. It was Tiamat's power as the Beast of Return, the physical manifestation of her concept of life.
As long as her vast spiritual foundation existed on the surface, and as long as her sorrow and despair from being cruelly abandoned by her children and losing her only loved one had not completely disappeared, this Sea of Life—symbolizing all things returning to their origin—would continue to expand endlessly until everything was completely reset.
Even Tiamat herself could not completely stop this rampaging Sea of Life. At best, she could only slightly slow its greedy advance, just as she was doing now.
Furthermore… the price was losing the ability to act completely.
Yet it was truly ridiculous... Even with the combined trump cards of multiple great heroic spirits and his own intervention, they had been unable to suppress the enraged Mother Goddess.
As a result… she had unconsciously gone this far just by seeing the figure of a human boy?
…Just to avoid hurting him?
Thinking this, Goetia couldn't help but turn his gaze toward the young man who had just stepped onto the battlefield.
"It seems… you are the human they were talking about—Matou Yuu?"
He looked down at the young man and furrowed his brows. "You should have originally been just a human, yet your body reeks of a strong Dead Apostle scent. It seems... you cowardly abandoned your identity as a human to extend your lifespan and obtain eternal life, didn't you?"
Goetia—the collective body of the 72 Demon Pillars born from the King of Magecraft Solomon—had once looked down upon three thousand years of human history from a divine perspective.
He pitied humanity's short lifespan and fragility, lanting the inevitable fate that led them toward death.
Although he was the First Beast, his affection for humanity could be said to have reached a distorted level.
That was why, upon sensing the Dead Apostle aura from Matou Yuu, his first reaction was to mock him.
This was the ultimate blasphemy against his great mission of saving the world—a despicable act devoid of dignity!
However, facing Goetia's mocking and contemptuous gaze, Matou Yuu raised his head and smiled at the ferocious golden giant beast. "Compared to , who is barely clinging to life... isn't it rather cowardly for the greatest Beast to take the initiative in trying to save humanity?"
"What exactly… are you afraid of? Are you afraid that Tiamat will destroy humanity first? But what effect would that have on you, a fellow Beast?"
The instant those words left his mouth, the surrounding air seed to plumt to 0 degrees Celsius.
Goetia's expression froze, and the countless crimson pupils on his colossal body belonging to the Demon God Pillars contracted violently almost simultaneously.
Imdiately after, an unprecedented killing intent filled the Beast's eyes.
The plan to incinerate Human Order… Theoretically, no one should have known about it yet, yet this man had exposed his greatest weakness with just one sentence.
It seed... this anomaly—who should not have appeared—had not only destroyed the Singularity but also knew an extrely large number of core forbidden secrets.
If he did not completely eliminate him here——
"Now is not the ti to discuss such things. Let's make use of the restraints Tiamat has imposed upon herself——"
Just as Goetia's killing intent was about to explode, rlin's urgent voice suddenly rang out, interrupting the stalemate between the two.
He shouted toward the goddess waiting deep in the Underworld. "Goddess of the Underworld, now is the ti to fully open the gates of the Underworld!"
Tiamat was currently restraining herself more than ever before… This was her weakest mont, and at the sa ti, the perfect opportunity to save humanity.
However, the instant rlin finished speaking, a voice mixed with surprise and hesitation ca from the Underworld. "Eh? But… But Mother is clearly already stopping…"
"That was just a montary illusion."
rlin suppressed his usual frivolity and said quietly in the gentlest yet cruelest tone. "That silence was rely a brief rest forcibly granted by Tiamat. As long as the spiritual origin of the Second Beast remains, her rampage of reason will never stop due to her personal rcy."
At that mont, he looked up at the monster soaring high in the sky and said, "Killing her would also be a relief for Tiamat."
Because she would neither be able to return to the Imaginary Sea nor remain in this world as a useless being rejected by the world.
As long as her colossal spiritual foundation remained, she would be driven by her beast-like instincts and push forward until everything returned to its original state.
Let her keep that final fragnt of rationality and love until the curtain falls… Perhaps this was the final act of rcy shown to the Mother Goddess of Creation.
"U-Understood."
After a brief silence, Ereshkigal seed to have made a painful decision and was about to fully activate the supre power of the Underworld.
Fwoosh!
However, the very next mont, a divine weapon polluted by black mud suddenly shot out from the Imaginary Treasury and violently slamd into the invisible gate to the Underworld.
BOOM!
With an ear-shattering roar, the gate to the Underworld—which had been about to fully open—was forcibly covered by a thin mbrane from the Sea of Life carried by the divine weapon, and the expansion of the gate suddenly stopped.
rlin's body stiffened slightly for an instant.
A short distance away, Goetia narrowed his dangerously crimson eyes.
anwhile, Artoria, who was holding the Star Sword, slightly furrowed her brows.
Taigong Wang still wore a smile, but the expression in his eyes as he stared at the young man was extrely aningful.
Tezcatlipoca let out an interested "Oh?" as if he had witnessed an unbelievably ridiculous sight, raised his head, and looked curiously at Matou Yuu in the sky.
Behind the young man, countless deep jet-black Imaginary ripples had already begun to spread.
One after another, divine weapons polluted by the Sea of Life quietly appeared from those ripples.
Just monts ago, he had comforted Tiamat and even made her accept "restraining" herself.
Just as everyone was about to get the chance to completely eliminate this hidden danger… he unhesitatingly drew his weapons and stood before Tiamat.
What exactly was this man trying to do?
For a mont, the sa question arose in the hearts of multiple great heroic spirits present.
"Young man… May I ask you one question?"
Tezcatlipoca quietly struck a match, lit his cigar, and slowly exhaled a thick ring of smoke.
"Do you understand what will happen if Tiamat continues to exist in this world?"
"Indeed."
Matou Yuu lightly nodded while looking up at the colossal being high in the sky. "Although she is still restraining herself... the instincts of the Sea of Life are unconsciously devouring this planet."
"It will only be a matter of ti before Earth's ecosystem completely collapses and reverts to the Age of Gods."
Before anyone else could speak, he added, "But I want to save her."
"Save a Beast…?"
rlin flinched for a mont before narrowing his eyes and saying quietly, "In other words... you ca all the way to this battlefield not to save humanity, but solely for Tiamat's sake?"
Matou Yuu nodded ambiguously.
"If she continues to remain in this world in this state, the Sea of Life will eventually assimilate everything… The humanity you cherish will completely disappear."
"But I just said… even if there's only the slightest possibility, I want to save her."
rlin instinctively gripped his staff tightly and whispered, "Even if… the price is betting three thousand years of humanity's survival and becoming the enemy of all the great heroic spirits here?"
Matou Yuu grinned and said, "If I were to throw her into the abyss right now for the sake of what you call humanity... would the gods and heroes here really praise and applaud my glorious act of sacrificing family for the greater good?"
"…"
"Ha——"
After a while, a burst of uncontrollable laughter suddenly erupted from among the crowd. That laughter was filled with unconcealable admiration.
"Kid, you're absolutely right! The Mother Goddess of Creation set a trap for you and couldn't bear to destroy the world... If you really killed her for the sake of humanity, probably only the cold machine known as the Counter Force would praise you."
After speaking, he forcefully removed his sunglasses, revealing his wild eyes like those of a Surian gods, and grinned. "Wonderful… I really like you."
However...
From the exaggeratedly designed modern firearm in his hand, a dark crimson light symbolizing the First Sun and the underworld rules of Surian quietly glowed, as if even the surrounding space was about to be torn apart by this violent magical energy.
"But I'm sorry… After all, this is a mission I accepted from the Counter Force, so I must formally respect your choice."
"Since you've chosen to stand on Tiamat's side…"
He slowly raised the muzzle, and the terrifying pressure belonging to the supre god obore down on him.
"Are you really prepared to fight all the heroic spirits here?"
Artoria, holding the Star-Forged Holy Sword, slowly stepped forward and said quietly, "I'm sorry, Matou Yuu. I sincerely acknowledge your courage. However... as the Grand Saber who wields the Star Holy Sword, I cannot accept this dangerous gamble you've proposed."
Romulus-Quirinus had remained silent throughout.
However, from behind him, countless rays of light symbolizing Ro's glory and the principle of the World Tree quietly appeared, and his colossal divine aura already displayed his unwavering stance.
Ultimately, Grand Heroic Spirits were world defense chanisms that responded to Alaya's call to subjugate Beasts and protect humanity.
If this human was willing to trade all of humanity's future for a single possibility—no matter how moving his original intentions were—he must stand on humanity's side.
"I know you won't agree... From the beginning, I never intended to make heroes like you—who embody humanity's minimum standards—yield with just a few words," Matou Yuu said slowly.
Taigong Wang quietly stared at the black-haired young man before him. A faint emotion now appeared in his usually gentle eyes.
"This is truly… a beautiful and awe-inspiring discovery."
The handso youth with an immortal-like appearance quietly sighed and gently asked, "If you're going to do it even though you know it's impossible, what exactly are you relying on to stop us? Just your body, deeply eroded by the Dead Apostle aura?"
Almost the instant his words were spoken——
Jingle jingle!
Accompanied by a clear, mystical sound like fairy bells, a graceful divine beast that was neither deer nor horse appeared at Taigong Wang's feet.
—The mythical beast, the Sibuxiang!
Taigong Wang, who had beco a Grand Rider, no longer radiated magical energy like an ordinary magus, but instead emitted a terrifying heavenly aura as if it ca from the sa source as heaven and earth.
However, despite the terrifying pressure emanating from the great heroic spirits, the young man stubbornly straightened his back.
Behind him, countless ripples gushed out from an Imaginary rift resembling a black hole.
From those ripples, divine weapons polluted by the Sea of Life quietly revealed their sharp edges.
Enkidu stood quietly among the heroic spirits, staring at the young man before him and the ominous dark treasury radiating light behind him—like a moth drawn to fla—and couldn't help but sigh.
This divine weapon neither stepped forward nor summoned the Chains of Heaven to bind Matou Yuu, because for this divine weapon, the outco of this battle had been decided from the very beginning.
However, when he turned to look at his beloved friend beside him, he noticed that Gilgash's expression had been solemn from the very beginning—different from usual.
The usually arrogant King of Heroes showed no arrogance. His crimson snake-like eyes that seed to pierce through everything were fixed on the young man before him.
"…Gill, what are you thinking?" Enkidu asked quietly.
"I feel like sothing strange is happening to Matou Yuu," Gilgash said slowly.
Enkidu's erald-green eyes wavered slightly as he whispered, "In other words... the power of Imaginary Treasury he possesses?"
"No…" Gilgash slowly shook his head. "That is the power Tiamat bestowed upon him without reservation. Given the deep affection of the Mother Goddess of Creation, it's not surprising that he was able to accomplish this."
"However..."
He turned to look at his friend beside him, his gaze particularly deep. "According to the mories of the other who was in Snowfield City, Matou Yuu was originally indeed just a human and did not possess any so-called Dead Apostle aura."
"That nauseating stench emanating from him... appeared out of nowhere after he experienced a complete death and crawled back from hell."
Upon hearing this, Enkidu slightly furrowed his handso brows. "In other words... so ancient True Ancestor was hiding in the shadows and bestowed Dead Apostle power upon him? But in this unusual Holy Grail War, there were no traces of a True Ancestor's manifestation... Could the opponent have been hiding underground in Snowfield City all along?"
The instant he finished speaking, Gilgash suddenly dropped a chilling bombshell. "Do you rember what happened a little while ago? When Tiamat's Sea of Life went berserk, the resulting planet-scale tremors nearly awakened that alien monster sleeping in the Crystal Underworld of South Arica."
"rlin set up an illusion array to keep it asleep, but my clairvoyance confird one thing... that calamity no longer exists in South Arica."
"And coincidentally... it is also one of the 27 Dead Apostle Ancestors."
Enkidu suddenly realized sothing, and a chill ran down his spine.
He unconsciously raised his head and stared at the black-haired young man before him. That young man was already steadily retreating under the concentrated fire of the great heroic spirits.
"Could it be…"
"Yes."
Gilgash stared at the young man and instinctively tightened his grip on the Ea.
"Sothing inside that man seems to have awakened."
…
"Haa… haa… haa…"
In the silent, ruined battlefield, the sound of ragged breathing was particularly clear.
"Matou Yuu, let's end this here. As soone who has struggled in this world, I respect your strong will, and I understand how you feel right now…"
Taigong Wang ford a seal with one hand, firmly planted both feet on the four symbols, and his gentle eyes were filled with deep regret and determination. "However, for the safety of humanity, this desperate battle... must be abandoned."
High in the sky on the opposite side, Goetia quietly looked down at the staggering young man below.
"That's truly wonderful…"
The Demon King's indifferent voice was laced with a condescending gaze. "All the great heroic spirits here are wary, afraid of failing and incurring Tiamat's wrath, yet enduring the pressure of so many great heroic spirits at once is probably the greatest honor of your short life."
"It's a pity…"
The instant he finished speaking, an eerie killing intent welled up from the depths of the Beast's eyes.
Matou Yuu… The very existence of this young man was the greatest anomaly in this world.
Not only was it beyond the reach of the all-seeing eye, but he even suspected that he knew the core secrets of the Incineration of Human Reason plan that the gods had prepared for three thousand years.
This variable… probably needed to be eliminated here.
However... no matter how strong his killing intent was, Goetia knew he had to wait until he first dealt with Tiamat—the threat that would destroy the world.
After all... even though Tiamat was currently in an extre state of self-isolation, no one could assert that there was no deep soul contract between Matou Yuu and her.
For example… Tiamat would imdiately sense the young man's death.
None of the heroes present—not even Goetia himself—wanted to face the Mother of Creation in that state again.
"Give up, Matou Yuu."
A fleeting trace of sympathy appeared in Artoria's erald eyes as she said quietly, "I understand how you feel. But to ensure that all life on this planet has a tomorrow, I'm sorry… I cannot back down."
"Alright, everyone, discard that unnecessary killing intent."
At that mont, the voice of the man in the smoke-filled mirror—carrying a sowhat mischievous yet arrogant tone—suddenly rang out.
The Surian gods carried the latest model of gun on his shoulder, looked around at the crowd, and declared in an absolute tone.
"This guy is quite a tough opponent. I like him. No matter what ultimately happens to Tiamat's fate, no one is allowed to take his life. Understood?"
Hearing this intimidating and protective statent, rlin sighed and glanced sideways at the figure in the center of the arena. "But... does it look like he has any intention of giving up even slightly?"
Tezcatlipoca slightly furrowed his brows and imdiately shifted his gaze forward.
At this mont, the black-haired young man had clearly reached his limit both magically and physically.
Under the terrifying suppressive pressure of the Grand Heroic Spirits, the Imaginary Treasury he had barely been maintaining behind him had long since lost its light and vanished into particles of light.
However… he did not fall. With his hands on his knees, he panted heavily, and sweat dripped onto the scorched ruins.
"Even though you've hit this dead end… you still have no intention of giving up?"
Tezcatlipoca—who had been silently watching the young man's stubborn attitude—slightly raised his brows and let out an almost imperceptible small sigh before turning to the white-haired nightmare-like man beside him.
"The next operation absolutely must not fail. For now, let's put him to sleep."
"It feels like I'm always being given these unrewarding, dirty, and exhausting jobs."
rlin shrugged helplessly, his deep, beautiful purple eyes fixed on the young man before him.
"But for now… there doesn't seem to be any better way."
"Sleep, Matou Yuu... When you wake up, everything will be over."
He slowly raised the wooden staff in his hand.
Buzz—!
Accompanied by a faint humming sound, dream-like pink light suddenly appeared on the battlefield.
Along with rlin's soul-stirring whisper, countless illusory petals of Avalon—like an omnipresent tide—rushed toward Matou Yuu in an instant.
It was an illusion at the pinnacle of magic, a powerful corruption capable of luring even gods into eternal sleep.
Almost instantly, Matou Yuu's consciousness was struck by an unprecedented dizziness, like a tsunami.
He felt as if his soul was being forcibly ripped from his body, and every cell in his brain seed to be desperately sounding an alarm to enter a dormant state.
Even biting his tongue hard enough to break it could not withstand this kind of hypnosis that shook the very foundation of existence.
After all, even if he had concentrated all attribute points into Magical Energy since arriving in this world, confronting Grand Heroic Spirits head-on in his current state was unrealistic.
Furthermore... there was not just one Grand Heroic Spirit there.
They were all miraculous manifestations of Earth's defense chanisms, standing at the pinnacle of human myth and history.
"They're too strong... Well, I knew from the beginning that I couldn't defeat all of them alone..."
Matou Yuu stared at the terrifying illusion filled with pink petals spreading before him. His vision gradually blurred and would not return.
He sighed inwardly.
"Are you planning to make a deal?"
A languid, lodic, and arrogant female voice echoed from within him.
"Yes, that's right…"
Surrounded by an overwhelmingly large number of Grand Heroic Spirits that blocked almost every escape route and induced despair, Matou Yuu's body slowly relaxed.
He calmly asked himself, "According to our previous agreent… three minutes to resolve the trouble outside. That should be enough, right?"
Although he had been prepared to make a deal with Crimson Moon from the beginning, Matou Yuu had always maintained extre vigilance toward the extrely dangerous host residing within him.
Three minutes was the current limit this body could endure, and at the sa ti, the limit of his soul's ability to prevent his primary personality from being assimilated by the opponent.
If more than three minutes passed, Crimson Moon's overwhelmingly massive soul mass would rapidly erode his self-awareness... In the long term, this body would truly be forced to change its allegiance.
"Fufu… Even now, you're still worried that I'll devour your boring personality?"
Crimson Moon saw through the young man's thoughts at a glance and sneered. "What a good idea. You ask for my help while always being wary of and even trying to limit my free ti."
"Let's separate the matters. Our agreent is that I provide this corpse's blood on ti, and in exchange, you get the opportunity to sell it, right?"
Matou Yuu smiled casually. "Besides, you can also use my body to breathe fresh air or stretch your muscles. Isn't that nice?"
"Stop talking to in such a frivolous tone, as if you're taking a pet for a walk!"
Crimson Moon imdiately snorted coldly, sounding sowhat irritated.
"You impudent human, when will you truly understand the weight of the title 'King of the Moon'?! Don't even ntion the few people outside… Even the will of a collapsed planet would treat with the utmost respect! Yet you dare to set a tir on …"
Faced with Crimson Moon's intense anger, Matou Yuu wisely remained silent and simply quietly waited for her reply.
As expected, after venting her extre dissatisfaction, Crimson Moon paused briefly, and her tone contained a faintly awkward snort.
"Hmm... That said, it's true that I haven't done anything fun on this planet for a while... Let's treat this as a bit of after-dinner entertainnt."
"Relax your body."
She issued an unquestionable command in a languid yet noble voice. "Don't even think about resisting . When it's over, I want your blood. Understood?"
"Understood." Matou Yuu answered without hesitation, completely relinquishing control of his body and cooperating by sinking his consciousness.
"Therefore, the contract is formally established."
BOOM—!
Outside, amidst the overwhelming tide of pink illusory petals of Avalon rushing in, an unprecedented deep crimson magical energy suddenly erupted from Matou Yuu's previously completely withered body!
The very next mont, he slowly opened his eyes.
"So then, next is…"
"Let's play along with them and have so fun together."
…
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