"My name is Flauros, one of the Seventy-Two Demon Pillars—the Information Center!"
Lev raised his head toward the sky above the Temple of Time, announcing his identity.
Then, in the very next instant, a spear of light pierced through his chest.
"Too bad. I don't have the time to entertain you." Shiomi hurled Gungnir without warning. "It's obvious you're trying to stall, but our time is far more precious—more so than even what your King has left."
"Guhah...!"
Just moments ago, Lev had been triumphant, declaring his challenge. Now, he was staggering, nearly toppling from the floating rock platform.
"That spear... Gungnir?!" It was the first time Lev had even heard of this weapon.
His intelligence indicated that Shiomi only possessed the twin red spears given to him by Scáthach. But this—this was the divine spear of Odin. How could such a weapon have fallen into this man's hands?
What's worse, his regeneration had been crippled. He couldn't shift into his Demon Pillar form.
A wound that pierced the heart in human form—how could something like that be fatal to a Demon God?
But this divine spear carried a death far more absolute than the cursed crimson lances.
Shiomi raised his hand, and Gungnir flew back to him. Lev collapsed onto the stone, no longer supported.
Shiomi didn't spare him a second glance.
"Let's go," he said to the three behind him.
Just behind Lev stood the first gate leading into the temple.
Shiomi had no way of knowing how many more lay ahead—they had to move fast.
...
"It's not over—!"
As they prepared to split up and advance, Lev's voice rang out again.
He forced himself to his feet, surrounded by twisting Demon Pillars.
More Pillars surged up from beneath the earth, blocking the group's path.
"Even the gods can't escape a sure-hit attack. Even a Demon Pillar can be destroyed in an instant," Lev said, his voice regaining strength. "But it means nothing. It's all meaningless! Because—we are infinite!"
As he spoke, a circular magic array flared to life around Shiomi and the others—and exploded with a thunderous roar.
"Dad!"
Sakura, quick as ever, knew there was no dodging it.
The scale of the blast dwarfed even what they had faced in the London Singularity.
Just forming a barrier in time to withstand the shockwave was already taxing for the remaining team members.
"Sakura-senpai! Up there!" Ritsuka pointed skyward.
Shiomi and the others, who had scattered at the moment of the explosion, were descending slowly from above.
Relief washed over the team. They knew—it would take more than that to bring them down.
Artoria landed first.
"I never thought I'd do this again," she said. "But let me borrow this temple's mana, King of Magecraft."
She gave a wry smile, reaching out her hand. From beneath her lowered lashes, her jewel-like eyes gleamed with divine brilliance.
Back at the Sixth Singularity, as the goddess Rhongomyniad, she had summoned the full force of the Round Table.
She had once sent those proud, loyal knights into a battle steeped in sin—on a mission they would be abandoned for.
That guilt had never left her.
She'd sworn never to call upon them again—but now was different.
If it was for the sake of humanity's future, then her knights would surely answer her call.
Sensing her intent, Flauros—now fully returned to his Demon Pillar form—launched an immediate attack.
But even then, it was already too late.
For Flauros—and for every last Demon Pillar.
"At the call of our king, we, the Knights of the Round Table, have come to aid you!"
Clad in white armor, Percival raised Longinus and cleaved through the Demon Pillars' mana blasts, placing his towering frame in front of Artoria.
At the same time, the rest of the Round Table knights—save for Galahad—descended one after another, launching attacks without hesitation. They struck at the Demon Pillars, supporting Shiomi's group as they pushed toward the gate.
Even Bedivere, honored for his deeds at the Sixth Singularity, had manifested here as a Servant.
"Sir Percival." Artoria nodded and drew the Holy Sword. "I am deeply grateful that you've set aside past grievances to fight alongside me."
"That's because this time, Your Majesty's judgment is flawless. Back then, we stood against you only because we believed your path needed correcting." With a bright smile, Percival charged ahead to lead the assault.
Shiomi's spear pierced through a Demon Pillar, syncing his strikes with Artoria's.
"You could've told me you had something like this up your sleeve."
"…Because I didn't know if my knights would forgive their king," Artoria replied with a self-deprecating smile.
"Well, I think the answer's clear now," Shiomi said with a grin.
The two then split up again, dodging the barrage from the Demon Pillars.
"Hahahaha! Just eleven Knights of the Round Table? We Demon Pillars were born to be seventy-two! You think that meager firepower can wipe us out?!"
Flauros's arrogance wasn't unfounded.
Only a few among the knights had wide-range anti-army Noble Phantasms. Wiping out all seventy-two Demon Pillars in one strike was impossible.
"Even if you're our enemy, you're not wrong. It's a fantasy to think we alone could annihilate all of you," Tristan said, plucking his harp. Invisible arrows shot toward the Demon Pillars. "But with our king's call, the countless heroes engraved in human history have already stirred."
Gawain sliced through a mass of tentacles. "Do you know how many answered? As many as the stars in the sky! Chaldea crossed seven Singularities—every effort they made, every ally they gained, was earned through struggle!"
"You're really talking big, damn Gawain." Mordred and Bedivere fought side by side, shielding Chaldea's group while battling the Demon Pillars.
"Hmph…"
Morgan let out a soft laugh—not mocking, but thoughtful.
She could see them—Heroic Spirits manifesting throughout the Temple of Time. Even former enemies, once standing in opposition at the Singularities, now appeared to fight alongside Chaldea.
"My disciple."
Scáthach landed behind Shiomi, tugging him lightly.
"Leave this to us. You go do what you must."
If all seventy-two Demon Pillars were gathered here, that meant Solomon himself stood alone.
Beyond the door Lev Lainur had tried to block—surely lay the path to the Temple of Time's core.
"Scáthach is right. We're not fighting alone anymore. It's you, my husband, who must confront the King of Magecraft," Morgan said, gazing at him intently. "And then... expose that man's true face."
"That's all well and good," Shiomi said with a calm smile, "but you think they're just going to let me waltz through?"
Despite the flood of Servants on the battlefield, the seventy-two Demon Pillars still hadn't turned their gaze from Shiomi.