The light released by the Holy Sword of the Stars was visible to almost everyone currently in this Singularity.
Standing on the Northern Wall, gazing far toward that brilliant light, Merry and Merlin almost simultaneously smiled, while Morgan gave a slight sneer.
For these three individuals closely tied to King Arthur and the Holy Sword, that light brought back too many memories of the past. Though it was a distant past from thousands of years ago, the three occasionally still recalled it.
Morgan due to the hatred she had now released, Merlin because of the regrets in his heart, and Merry out of pure nostalgic pleasure.
However, regardless of their individual reasons, at least all three were glad to see that distant light.
"A very easy victory."
"With his abilities, this is the expected outcome. The troublesome part was only these Demon Beasts."
Morgan said while looking down at the horde of Demon Beasts that had begun to lose control after Gorgon's death. Without the Goddess of Magical Beasts, this leaderless horde would be easier to handle. At least, the end of total extermination was now in sight.
"Then, what about the others? Are they ready?"
"Hm, of course."
Merlin nodded.
Gorgon was dead. The impact of this death must have reached Tiamat, who was currently sleeping beneath the Persian Gulf. If so, her awakening was only a matter of time, and there was no need to maintain the Dream Prison any longer.
If they kept it up, the Incubus would be directly crushed to death by the enemy side.
Therefore—
*BUZZ!*
Pink petal-like light ignited on the two of them. Their divided minds, consciousness, and Mana, which had extended to the Persian Gulf, suddenly retracted into their bodies like an ebbing tide. Right at that moment—
"Ugh....."
"Mmm..."
As they fully withdrew their power, Merry and Merlin groaned softly in unison. Their bodies trembled violently, and they hurriedly supported themselves with their staffs to avoid falling. A few strands of blood trickled from the corners of their mouths.
Morgan frowned: "Not in time?"
"No..... a bit too late....." Merry wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth. "It should be said that only the long pants were touched, but even so, it made me feel like I was nearly dead."
Exactly as Naoki had said, the backlash from the Mother Creator—even if just the waking anger upon initial awareness—was not something the two of them could withstand. Moreover, this was the result shared between Merry and Merlin. If it had fully struck one person, they might have been severely injured on the spot.
Sustaining only minor wounds plus slightly disordered consciousness was already the best outcome.
*WHOOSH!*
Right at that moment, accompanied by a flash of lightning, Naoki suddenly appeared in front of the three of them, holding the Holy Grail in his hand. After glancing at Merry, he sighed in relief: "Seems like you're okay."
"Oh, did you rush back at full speed because you were worried about me?"
"Yes." Naoki nodded honestly. "Though I thought you probably had a backup plan to avoid dying, if possible, I still didn't want anything to happen to you."
"Mmhm~~~"
Merry hummed softly. Whether showing off or not, she slightly puffed out her chest with a very proud expression. This made Morgan's eyebrows twitch violently—if there weren't so many people here, she would have immediately smashed that trash Incubus with her staff. What was there to be proud of with such a frail, lowly physique?
After confirming Merry was fine, Naoki placed the Holy Grail on the ground: "I'll leave it here. Let Mash and Fujimaru pick it up later. And now, you two hurry back to Uruk and discuss the counterattack with Gilgamesh."
"Then what about you?" Morgan asked. "Don't tell me, you're planning to show off alone again like I think?"
"No, I'll just do what only I can—before I return, everything here is entrusted to you all."
After giving these instructions, Naoki once again turned into a stream of light and shot into the sky, speeding at full throttle toward the Persian Gulf. Though less than two minutes had passed since he annihilated Gorgon, he could already feel it.
The world's scream coming from the Persian Gulf.
◆━⊰✧⊱━◆
"Was that the Department Chief just now?"
At the same time, not far away at the staircase leading down from the Northern Wall, Ritsuka and the others, slightly disheveled, emerged one after another. Due to the major battle with the Demon Beasts, everyone was more or less injured, supporting each other and barely able to stand steadily.
Looking toward the direction Naoki had flown earlier, Ritsuka asked in confusion: "Merry-Sensei, that was the Department Chief, right? He's heading to... Wait, what's this on the ground?!"
Ritsuka rubbed her eyes several times to make sure she wasn't seeing things, then hurriedly bent down and picked up the Holy Grail from the ground: "The Holy Grail!? Why is it here?!"
"Of course, it was brought back by your beloved Department Chief, Master." Merry explained with a smile. "This is the seventh Holy Grail owned by Gorgon, personally sent by the King of Magecraft. Since Gorgon was defeated and annihilated by Naoki, this Holy Grail naturally becomes our spoils of war. Remember to keep it safe."
Without needing Merry to say it, Mash had already taken the Holy Grail from Ritsuka's hands and carefully stored it inside her shield. After this, she just needed to bring it back to Chaldea via Rayshift.
[With this, aside from the destroyed Holy Grails, we've recovered all the rest.]
Roman in Chaldea let out a slight sigh of relief.
All seven Holy Grails had been destroyed or recovered. The seven actual Singularities had ended, and this long journey of Human Order Incineration had reached its conclusion—thoughts like that arose in the minds of almost everyone in Chaldea.
Including Ritsuka and Mash.
The tense expression on her face suddenly relaxed, and Ritsuka leaned on Mash: "Huff~~~~ With this, it's over, right?"
"Yes, Senpai. The Holy Grail has been recovered, and the enemies have been defeated. All our battles in this Singularity are finished. You've worked hard, Senpai."
"That's wrong, Mash."
Merry shook her head, denying Ritsuka and Mash's claim that everything was over.
"The battle isn't finished. On the contrary, the real battle has only just begun. Everything we've experienced so far has merely been the appetizer."
"Eh?"
Ritsuka and Mash were stunned.
Not over? Just begun?
"Sensei, you mean...."
"Think carefully. Even though you've recovered the Holy Grails and defeated the greatest enemy, this Singularity should immediately begin to collapse, but why hasn't there been any change at all until now? —A similar situation, I think you've experienced it in the Sixth Singularity, right?"
Enemies defeated, but the Singularity doesn't disappear.
This wasn't the first time it had happened. Not long ago in the Sixth Singularity, even though Vortigern was defeated, due to his surviving descendants, the Singularity failed to vanish immediately.
"This Singularity is the same situation. The battle isn't over yet."