The final Rayshift proceeded smoothly.
As the light faded from their eyes, they felt their feet touch the ground.
Ritsuka glanced to the side and saw Mash and Hinako standing beside her as usual. Next to Hinako, Xiang Yu had also canceled his Spiritualization, manifesting his physical form.
Everyone had gathered.
Shifting her gaze, Ritsuka looked around.
"This is… the Grand Temple of Time?"
What she saw was a space that felt like it existed in the universe.
Like a scene captured by an astronaut's photo from the moon, the sky was pitch black, devoid of light. Surrounding them were mountains made of countless rocks of various shapes, even stone bridges suspended in the air.
In the air, an immense Mana that even Ritsuka could sense filled every corner, creating an overwhelming sense of oppression and burden, as if all the sins of the planet itself had gathered here, making it hard to breathe.
[You are currently in the outer area of the Temple of Time.]
Roman's communication came through from Chaldea.
[Natsukawa and the others still need two minutes to rendezvous with you. Don't act rashly until then.]
"Got it, Doctor."
In this operation, Ritsuka and the other three were not the main attackers, so there was no need to rush forward. They just had to wait for the main force to arrive before moving.
However, at that moment—
A sound like a boiling kettle suddenly echoed around the four of them. Immediately after, a black mist resembling a dark avalanche swirled at an astonishing speed, approaching from the distance, from all directions!
[Confirmed high-intensity Mana reaction and high-intensity Spiritron reaction! The category is… Demon God Pillar!]
Roman quickly provided the analysis results.
Facing the swirling black mist approaching, Mash immediately stepped in front of everyone, raising her round shield and holding it forward!
*ROAR!*
A powerful rumbling sound erupted outside the shield, and a fierce gust of wind swept around them.
Raising her hand to shield herself from the oncoming gale, Ritsuka widened her eyes and looked ahead. At that moment, an unexpected figure appeared in her view.
It was a man wearing a green cloak and a tall round hat, holding a staff in his hand, looking like an astute scholar.
Everyone present recognized him.
"Lev Lainur Flauros."
Ritsuka called out his name.
The Demon God Pillar, previously defeated by Jeanne Alter and Aoko in the First Singularity, the traitor of Chaldea, now appeared in the path of the four.
"I must say, it's surprising you made it this far."
Lev looked at the four with a contemptuous gaze.
"Although due to my carelessness, I did fall to you back then, I truly didn't expect you to be so persistent. You even broke through all seven Singularities and finally reached here."
"Truly astonishing."
Despite his words, there wasn't much surprise in Lev's tone. His disdain and mockery didn't diminish in the slightest.
To him, to the seventy-two Demon Gods, and to Goetia, Chaldea's resistance was merely the struggle of insects, just a tiny crack appearing in the final stage of an already completed plan.
If they hadn't reached this point, the Demon Gods wouldn't have paid any attention to Chaldea at all.
Even now, in this situation, the Demon Gods' indifference toward Chaldea remained unchanged. Compared to their immense power, Chaldea's resistance was utterly insignificant!
Thus—
"Your path ends here. Beyond this point is no longer an area you can tread."
"The remnants of human civilization, the relics of the old era, Chaldea—you end here!"
Lev forcefully slammed his staff into the ground.
*ROAR!*
The ground around them split open from below. Jet-black Demon God Pillars, covered in countless red cross-shaped eyes, shot into the sky.
And immediately after, as if triggering a chain reaction, one Demon God Pillar after another rose from the ground, appearing before Ritsuka and the others, as if piercing the clouds.
"Come, my brothers!"
"Come, my kin!"
"Now is the time for us to reveal our true forms and the full scope of our grandeur!"
Lev stood on the ground, spreading his arms and shouting loudly.
"The foolish opposers have arrived!"
"The annoying survivors have invaded our Holy Land!"
"It is time for us to eradicate these bothersome existences for our King and offer the final fireworks for our grand achievement!"
Lev declared.
Behind him, countless Demon God Pillars writhed and roared, as if responding to Lev's actions.
[Total number of Demon God Pillars: nine! Additionally, Demon God Pillar activity reactions are continuously appearing in other outer areas of the Temple of Time, totaling seventy-two Pillars—all Demon God Pillars have emerged!]
Even without Roman's explanation, Ritsuka and the others could grasp the current situation.
Seventy-two Demon God Pillars, each with power so immense that it required more than one top-tier Servant to counter. In past Singularities, just one Pillar had forced Ritsuka and the others to exert their full strength to defeat it.
And now, seventy-two Pillars had appeared.
The gap in combat power could no longer be described as "vast" and that wasn't all. Based on the concept that the Seventy-Two Demon Gods were a single entity, unless they were destroyed entirely, eliminating one or two Pillars was utterly meaningless.
They would maintain the number of seventy-two Pillars based on the concept of the Seventy-Two Demon Gods, never decreasing.
In other words, no matter how many times they were killed, they wouldn't die.
Such a malevolent existence, combined with their immortality and indestructibility, was truly a nightmare.
"You have no chance of winning, Chaldea."
Lev looked down on everything.
"Stand there and accept your death."
As Lev's words concluded, the eyes on the nine Demon God Pillars that had surrounded the four began to glow. Destructive light, burning like stars in the sky, filled everyone's vision.
With this attack, everything would end.
No matter how strong Mash's shield was, it could only protect one direction. But now, the attack was coming from all three hundred sixty degrees.
Ritsuka and the others had nowhere to escape!
Yet, facing such a situation, there wasn't the slightest hint of nervousness on Ritsuka's face. Instead, she displayed a confident smile.
"This won't end."
"We won't fall here, and we will definitely defeat you, reclaiming our future!"
"EXACTLY—!"
As if responding to Ritsuka's declaration, an angry shout rang out from the far end of the space!
The next second—
*WHOOSH!*
A tearing sound, accompanied by a golden flash, ripped through the space! It swept across the surface of every Demon God Pillar surrounding Ritsuka and the others! Under this flash, all nine Demon God Pillars were simultaneously sliced in two!
Lev immediately glared angrily at the source of the light: "You've come? Natsukawa Naoki!"
"Long time no see, Lev—but sorry, I don't have time to waste on you!"
In the air, carrying Aozaki Aoko, Naoki, transformed into a flash of light, looked at Ritsuka and the others: "I'll leave this part to you, Fujimaru, Mash, Hinako, Xiang Yu. The others will join you soon. Aoko and I are heading straight to the temple's center!"
"Straight to the center? Don't even think about it! Our sacred ground isn't a place you ants can tread!"
Realizing what Naoki and Aoko intended to do, Lev immediately swung his staff. From its tip, a roaring shockwave struck toward Naoki at high speed!
But before it could hit, dozens of light arrows were suddenly shot from the distance, intercepting the shockwave in midair.
*BAM!*
Beside Ritsuka and the others, Atalanta descended from the air, manifesting in her Servant form after so long, holding her bow and staring at Lev.
"I won't let you interfere with them, Demon God—Get ready, Ritsuka."
"Yes! Sensei!"