Fuyuki City was eerily quiet, with not a soul in sight. Whether in Shin-to or Miyama-cho, every corner was devoid of human presence, empty like a ghost town.
"This city is truly desolate."
At the top of Fuyuki Bridge, Marisbury gazed down at the city below.
"Is this the masterpiece of a Magus on your level, King?"
"Yes, but surely with help from others. With personal strength alone, it couldn't have been completed this quickly—they're here."
Solomon looked toward the other side of the bridge's railing. With a ripple of spatial displacement, the figures of Naoki, Artoria, and Rei appeared before him.
After observing the surroundings below, Solomon, likely guessing the opponent's plan, smiled. "Just you three? The others didn't come?"
"This place is too small to fit many people, isn't it?"
Naoki's gaze fell on Marisbury. "I heard you wanted to discuss the Incineration of Humanity with me again, Lord Animusphere? I don't think there's anything left to talk about."
(If he's here, that means Touko has a chance—Rider, you hear me? Tell Touko not to approach the place I mentioned earlier; it might be a trap.)
(The distance is too far. I'll go for a bit.)
One aura moved away, seemingly to take action.
Sensing this, Solomon didn't speak, instead yielding the stage to his Master. It was now the turn of the two Masters.
"You're being too absolute, Mr. Natsukawa. That day, we both acted too hastily. In truth, regarding the future, I believe we still have room to negotiate, even reach an agreement. Don't you think so?"
"You mean me joining Chaldea, keeping an eye on your every move?"
Marisbury nodded. "Yes. After all, building Chaldea itself won't cause the Incineration of Humanity. I believe establishing Chaldea is the right thing to do. It's Professor Lev's existence that would lead to the Incineration. As long as Professor Lev can be controlled, everything will be fine."
"Controlled?" Naoki frowned. "Not killed?"
"It's regrettable, but despite knowing Professor Lev's future choices, he's still a highly valuable Void-attribute Magus. I need his help to complete certain things."
In other words, after Marisbury extracted all of Professor Lev's value, he could control him—or rather, discard him.
"Truly the quintessential Magus mindset. Use what's valuable, discard what's not. Even the Department of Astromancy, far from the center of power, has mastered this principle."
"You flatter me." Marisbury smiled. "Of course, that's not the only solution. This might sound a bit irresponsible, but if the Incineration of Humanity does happen, the Department of Astromancy will take responsibility for resolving it, and we'd greatly hope to utilize your strength then."
"Letting me clean up the mess you caused?"
"Bluntly speaking, yes."
That was truly irresponsible. Naoki began to slightly admire Marisbury's thick skin. Was this his true nature, or had he become so shameless for the sake of building Chaldea?
Though Naoki knew the Department of Astromancy would indeed take responsibility for resolving the Incineration of Humanity later—Olga Marie did so.
However—
"As long as I can defeat you here and prevent you from obtaining the Holy Grail, wouldn't that resolve the issue permanently? Why should I go through the trouble of helping you fix it in the future?"
True, it would mean losing the chance to meet some old friends he didn't yet know, but preventing the Incineration of Humanity outright was good enough.
"Yes, that's one point we can't reconcile. Honestly, regarding the future you mentioned, I can't fully confirm it yet. Even the King's Clairvoyance hasn't observed that disaster, so—I'd like to make a deal with you, Mr. Natsukawa."
"A deal?"
"It's called a deal, but it's also a fact that will inevitably happen later. I just want to make it a vow to ensure that fact occurs more stably."
"If, in the upcoming battle, the King wins, then not only will you, Mr. Natsukawa, not obstruct me, but you'll also help me build Chaldea, perhaps as a key combat member. Of course, if my actions lead to the Incineration of Humanity, you can stop me immediately."
"And if you win, as per your wish, I'll completely abandon building Chaldea and provide you with Professor Lev's location."
Marisbury simply outlined the terms of the deal.
"How about it? It's a deal that doesn't disadvantage either of us, right? Even if I didn't propose it as a deal, we'd likely make similar decisions after winning."
"Indeed."
Marisbury was merely stating what would happen anyway, and the terms were acceptable to both sides. If Naoki lost, he'd have to work at Chaldea and monitor it. If the Incineration of Humanity occurred, he'd also need to help resolve it completely.
The first part didn't need discussion—if the Incineration happened, Naoki wouldn't stand idly by.
If Marisbury lost, he'd have to give up on Chaldea. In many parallel worlds, plenty of Marisburys met this end, though he'd be disappointed again.
The terms were equal for both sides.
"Looks like we have a deal. I look forward to the day we work together in the future, Mr. Natsukawa."
"That depends on whether King Solomon can defeat me." Naoki said, shifting his gaze to Solomon. "By the way, I recall you said whether you'd kill me depends on my performance?"
"Correct."
Solomon's robes fluttered without wind, his body slowly rising into the air, the ten rings on his fingers glowing one by one. Hundreds of magic circles suddenly appeared behind him.
Seeing those magic circles, Naoki froze in place.
Those circles—he recognized them, and they were very familiar.
"In the name of Solomon, open the gate to the Sea of Stars within and reveal yourself to this world—"
Command-like words echoed from the sky. As Solomon's Mana surged, thousands of beings poured out from the hundreds of magic circles!
Each one, like a demon.
Each one, like a demon god.
But each one was neither demon nor demon god, but an existence almost entirely opposite.
Yes, each one was…
"Spirit Summoning · Imaginary Manifestation · Seventy-Two Pillars."
—Spirit!