This was an existence Rozen and the others had never heard of before.
And yet, it truly existed in this world.
Born from humanity's original sin, from humanity's bestial nature—an evil that must be destroyed and overcome by humanity itself.
These evils are what are called the Evils of Humanity.
"Even I, as King, know only of its existence, never having seen it myself. To think it would actually appear now…"
Gilgamesh spoke in a low voice.
"It is said there are seven such Evils of Humanity in total, and that they can also manifest as Spirit Origins. The one now present in Mesopotamia must be one of them—namely, the special class that symbolizes calamity: Beast."
Like the seven Grand Servants, they are not chosen by the Holy Grail, but by humanity's own bestial impulses—seven great Spirit Origins.
Each one is a calamity capable of destroying mankind. As Merlin once said, only by gathering all seven Grand Servants chosen by the world could such disasters be opposed.
Now, in this era, one of the seven Evils of Humanity has awakened.
No—rather, it should be said it had already awakened long ago.
"The Mage King sent the Holy Grail into this era for the sake of awakening this Beast, did he not?"
So said Gilgamesh.
"But before the Beast could awaken, Merlin, with his Clairvoyance that sees the present, discovered its existence. Using his nature as an incubus, he dragged the Beast into a dream, keeping it in slumber all this time. Now that the Beast has awakened, Merlin's true form as an incubus was slain, and thus he disappeared."
The "true form" here did not mean the real Merlin imprisoned in Avalon's tower, but rather the true locus of the Merlin who manifested as a Servant.
The Merlin who had acted before Rozen and the others was nothing more than a sort of avatar, a shadow. The true Merlin, being a half-human incubus, would not lightly appear in the world.
He lingered within dreams, living in the realm of sleep.
That Merlin had concealed himself within the Beast's dream, keeping the Beast in continuous slumber and sealing its movements.
This was also why Merlin's mana had always seemed insufficient—most of it had been used to sustain that dream, keeping the Beast imprisoned.
Until today—when Gorgon was slain. In resonance with Gorgon, the Beast awakened, shattering Merlin's dream. His true form was killed, and he vanished entirely.
"Thanks to him, Mesopotamia endured for a full half-year. I ought to thank him."
Gilgamesh concluded with these words.
But then…
"Wait a moment—Kingu clearly said the one who awakened was the Mother, the Sea of Life, the Origin Goddess, and that she resonated with Gorgon, granting Gorgon the authority of a Beast Goddess. If that's the case, shouldn't the one before us be Tiamat, our Mother?"
Ishtar could not restrain herself from speaking.
"Yet now you say the being that appeared in this era is a Beast, an Evil of Humanity. What's the meaning of this?"
Before Gilgamesh could answer, Rozen spoke.
"The reasoning is simple, Ishtar."
He sighed, answering bluntly.
"In other words—Tiamat is an Evil of Humanity. She is a Beast."
Exactly so.
As the discarded womb after creation, Tiamat was both ocean and the soil that birthed life.
Once the Earth's environment stabilized and its ecosystems took root, she was deemed unnecessary and cast away.
Thus, the so-called Mother Goddess of Creation was merely a false title.
Her true nature was that of a calamity rejected by human history, abandoned by mankind—a great disaster, one of the Seven Evils of Humanity.
A Beast embodying the principle of Return—Beast II.
This time, through the collapse of human order and the power of the Holy Grail, Tiamat succeeded in returning to this world.
Given that, what she would do next was all too clear.
"An existence whose sole purpose is to give birth, nurture, and love her children—and yet, denied by humanity with the verdict of 'we do not need you'—she will wage war against mankind. Unless modern humanity is destroyed, she cannot overwrite the ecosystem of Earth and return to being the Mother of All Life. That, I suppose, will be Tiamat's guiding principle from here on."
Gilgamesh declared calmly.
"So steel yourselves. The foe we must now face is none other than the true Goddess of Creation, a calamity capable of annihilating the world of mankind itself—a Beast that only the Grand Servants can oppose."
At his words, all present felt the weight upon their hearts.
Rozen's eyes flickered with unspoken heaviness.
Not even he had imagined that, in the final Singularity, the opponent he must face would be such an existence.
A Beast.
A concept, an existence, one step above even Grand.
Against such an opponent—could his current power truly suffice?
Rozen did not know.
If it were merely a Grand Servant, then with his current strength he was confident—victory would be almost certain.
But to face a Beast, which only all seven Grand Servants together could oppose—how far could he truly go?
Recalling that figure standing upon the black sea, Rozen's heart grew heavy as well.
Perhaps sensing this heaviness, Gilgamesh spoke again.
"The Beast has not yet begun to act. Newly awakened, she will surely require time to prepare. At the very least, she will first seek to reclaim the Holy Grail from Kingu."
Gilgamesh turned his gaze to the communicator on Rozen's wrist. "Chaldea—you should have observed the situation at the sea by now, no?"
"Eh!?"
Olga Marie, caught off guard by Gilgamesh suddenly addressing them, jumped in fright.
"U-Us?"
Roman also grew flustered.
Da Vinci, however, managed to remain composed.
"According to King Gilgamesh's words—since a Beast-class existence is still a Spirit Origin, we should be able to detect its presence. Yet no Spirit Origin strong enough to threaten mankind has been detected anywhere… except in the Persian Gulf, which has been swallowed into darkness."
So Da Vinci reported.
Because the sea had been polluted by cursed mana, turned into a pitch-black expanse, Chaldea could not yet make a detailed observation.
Only Rozen knew—the Beast had already appeared.
That figure standing upon the black sea was none other than the Beast.
Chaldea had yet to discover her.
But…
"From that black sea, vast numbers of creatures have emerged. Even with limited observation, at least one hundred million have been counted. Only a fraction has reached land, but already, a rough scan has identified about a hundred thousand. Of these, roughly twenty thousand are advancing toward Uruk. They will arrive within three hours. In less than half a day, Uruk will be under attack."
Da Vinci's words were blunt.
"In other words—Uruk is about to face the threat of ten thousand monsters, each stronger than Ugar. If we cannot hold them back, humanity will perish outright—without the Beast even lifting a finger."