Main Control Room.
Three hours remain until the second day of Chaldea's internal time.
As the only person on duty in the control room, Roman massaged his eyes after completing part of the analysis of the Grand Temple of Time.
"Tired?"
Sheba's voice came from behind Roman. Then, Roman felt her body pressing against him from behind.
The two hadn't had much intimate contact like this in their lives, but now, it was a perfectly normal interaction between them. Roman had fully grown accustomed to Sheba's presence, from initial panic to now.
"No, just a habit of resting my eyes."
"Want to go back to your room?" Sheba asked.
Roman shook his head: "I've held on this far; let me hold on until the end. Once everything's over, I'll definitely rest to my heart's content."
(Once everything's over, huh…)
Sheba looked at the Grand Temple of Time data on the screen: "Do you have any countermeasures? If it's you, for the Magecraft you created yourself, you must have a way to deal with it."
Sheba knew about Solomon, and she knew about Goetia.
Goetia's true form was actually a magical ritual created by Solomon—the Human Order Correction Ritual: Goetia.
It was a system designed to more effectively advance the correct path, a Magecraft with consciousness.
Though called a Beast and Demon God King, at its core, Goetia was fundamentally a magical ritual. So, as its creator, Roman must know how to handle it.
"No." Roman gave a bitter smile. "No, more accurately, I know Goetia's one weakness, but I have no way to act on it."
As he said this, Roman removed his glove, revealing ten empty fingers.
The Human Order Correction Ritual: Goetia, as a collective consciousness of the Seventy-Two Demon God Pillars, existed as a magical ritual created by Solomon during his lifetime. If Solomon's power and existence completely vanished, its power would also weaken significantly, from an invincible Beast to an existence that could be defeated.
And Roman could do that.
In mythology, before his death, Solomon returned nine of the ten omnipotent rings he received from heaven and cast the remaining one into the distant future. Thus, the first Noble Phantasm of King Solomon was born.
—[The Time of Parting Has Come, He Is the One Who Lets Go of the World (Ars Nova)]
A farewell poem that relinquishes all the great achievements, miracles, and magic he had manifested thus far.
As long as this Noble Phantasm was activated, the blessings Solomon received from God would be returned to heaven, and he would lose his eyes to see the world (Clairvoyance).
The effect would be Solomon's death. All traces of him would vanish completely, even his existence in the Throne of Heroes would cease to exist.
Solomon's death would mean the self-destruction of the seventy-two Demon Gods. As the collective consciousness of the seventy-two Demon Gods, Goetia would naturally suffer an equivalent impact, losing its immortality and most of its power.
This was the trump card Roman originally held, the only trump card he had as a Grand Caster to counter Beast I.
But that trump card was no longer in his hands.
"Natsukawa, he knew I had this trump card, and he also knew I would use my first Noble Phantasm when everything was over. Maybe he learned something from the Root, or maybe he saw something at the Root. He didn't want me to die, so he took my ring ten years ago."
"So, even though I know how to target Goetia's weakness, I can't do anything about it. I can only watch from here."
Ten hours from now, after sending Fujimaru and the others to the Grand Temple of Time via Rayshift and retrieving them after the battle ended—that's when Roman's duties would be fully complete.
He had fought for ten years; he could finally rest in peace.
Picking up his coffee cup and taking a sip, Roman stared at the black liquid in the cup. His thoughts slowly drifted back to ten years ago, gradually recalling his experiences over those ten years.
When he became human, he saw the future of the Human Order Incineration. Since then, he had fought tirelessly to resolve this situation. Without Magic Circuits, without Clairvoyance, he, who had lost all his power, could only study desperately, could only do what he could with all his might.
It was an incredibly tough past. Looking back, Roman found it a bit hard to believe—that he had actually managed to persevere until now.
(Well, that's also thanks to Natsukawa. Occasionally, he'd come to bother me, using his own way to ease my stress…)
In this regard, Roman was deeply grateful to Naoki.
In other aspects as well.
For Roman, over these ten years as an ordinary human, his greatest benefactor and best friend was Naoki.
After everything was over, he would have to thank him properly.
Seeing Roman suddenly fall silent, Sheba reached out from behind and hugged her king: "This is better for you too… By the way, what will you do after this?"
"Who knows? Why are you already thinking about what comes after the battle when the final battle hasn't even started? You're too optimistic."
"Because it's impossible to lose." Sheba laughed. "So, isn't it better to think about the future? What's your plan after this?"
"After this…"
Roman looked up at the ceiling: "For starters… sleep well. Then, I'll travel the world, see the things I didn't have time to see over these ten years, until I end this life as an ordinary human."
This was Roman's only thought, and also the wish he had held since ten years ago—he hoped to become human for this purpose.
"Alright, break time's over."
Finishing his coffee, Roman slapped his cheeks: "Whether crying or laughing, this is truly the final battle. As Chaldea's current technical chief, I have to ensure the pre-battle preparations are perfect."
"Go for it, I'll cheer you on from here."
"No… How about helping me a bit too~~~"
Time remaining until the operation begins.
Five hours and thirty-two minutes.