"So, it's confirmed—Mephistopheles' true name is Samael…"
Beside the petrified dragon statue, Ritsuka was briefing the Chaldea crew, catching up on details only they'd uncovered. But the conversation barely got going before an alarm blared next to Mash.
"Enemy detected… a Servant! A hostile Servant is awakening from the statue!"
Mash's warning rang out as the stone dragon trembled. Cracks spiderwebbed across its ashen scales, chunks of rock clattering down, kicking up a thick cloud of dust that shrouded the pyramid's steps.
"A vengeful dream fades like a bursting bubble, scattered starlight wilting like fallen petals."
A clear, resonant voice spoke with a somber edge. "And here, I am reborn."
Mash was still analyzing the data. "This signature… it's not Mephistopheles or Kriemhild. What is it—?"
"Oedipus," Ritsuka said, her brow furrowing, voice heavy. "He's fully awake."
Oedipus—the central figure of the Greek tragedy Oedipus Rex. Cursed by Apollo's prophecy, he was abandoned by his birth father, then left his adoptive parents after misinterpreting who the "father" in the prophecy was. In the end, after solving the Sphinx's riddle and returning to his birthplace, Thebes, he fulfilled the prophecy: he killed his biological father in a tragic twist and married his mother.
Such a violation of divine order brought punishment—plague and famine ravaged the land. Oedipus sought answers from the seer Tiresias, only to be told the disaster stemmed from him. Furious, Oedipus mocked the seer as blind, deaf, and foolish. Tiresias, knowing the brutal truth, shot back that those words would soon haunt Oedipus himself.
The seer refused to reveal the cruel reality, but Oedipus, in his arrogance, sensed the possibility yet shut it out, stubbornly chasing the truth. His pride wasn't just defiance—it was a belief that his will could overpower the gods, could rewrite fate itself.
Yet his every attempt to defy destiny only paved the way for his tragedy.
"Reborn, I'll carve out a new fate."
"Reborn, I'll keep hunting the sun's vengeance."
Ritsuka's gaze snapped to Per's only ally, Perseus. "You still good to fight?"
"Barely," Perseus said, sweat beading on her face. "I can stall, maybe, but beating him? No way."
Even if Oedipus had shed his "beast" status and Demon King title, he'd still devoured a Demon God Pillar—his Spirit Origin was on a whole other level. Perseus, without her Noble Phantasm, had zero chance of winning.
"Just do what you can," Ritsuka said.
Mash chimed in, "Exactly! Uesugi Kenshin and Izumo no Okuni are already on their way!"
"They're okay?" Ritsuka let out a small breath of relief. But before she could fully exhale, the cracks on the dragon's body exploded outward, nearly splitting it in two. A figure emerged—draped in a scarlet cloak, crowned with gold—landing smoothly on the ground.
"They say pride breeds tyrants," the figure declared. "And they're not wrong. The gods lounging on Olympus? Arrogant as hell. Dare to defy them, and who knows what kind of punishment they'll rain down!"
The strikingly beautiful, almost girlish young man drew a longsword, pointing it at Perseus, who hovered on winged sandals. "And you, child of the gods—let me curse you with that same fate!"
Perseus sucked in a sharp breath and charged, swinging her weapon. She hadn't expected him to unleash his Noble Phantasm right out the gate. With no clue what it did, dodging was pointless—her only shot was to interrupt him.
Too late.
Oedipus declared his Noble Phantasm's true name: "Fate, you made me crawl like an infant—Ignorant, Deaf, Blind!"
In that instant, Perseus's mind plunged into a chaotic darkness called "madness." It was Oedipus's endgame—blinding himself in a frenzy, exiled to foreign lands.
So, the Oedipus standing here? A Berserker, carrying an EX-rank Madness Enhancement. And this Noble Phantasm "gifted" that madness to Perseus.
EX-rank Madness Enhancement twists the mind into something alien to humanity, while A-rank or lower drives you into incoherent rage. Perseus, now crazed, dropped to all fours, lunging at Oedipus like a beast.
It was the same stance Pavone had taken before her defeat.
Oedipus parried Perseus's attacks with casual grace, knocking her scythe from her hands. Disarmed, Perseus didn't even try to grab it—she just kept swinging bare-fisted.
This might've been her bravest moment in this Singularity.
From a distance, Ritsuka shouted at Oedipus, "The Singularity's still here, which means—you've got the Holy Grail, don't you?"
"There's no Holy Grail in this Singularity," Oedipus replied coolly, catching the Chaldea Master off guard.
"No way," she said. "If there's no Grail—"
"If you're talking about that wish-granting bucket of mana, isn't it right there?" Oedipus gestured toward the petrified dragon's belly. "That living wish machine, capable of granting anything."
He meant Mephistopheles.
Oedipus took a hit from Perseus, then struck back with his sword, wounding her gravely. The blow snapped Perseus out of her madness, but she was too battered to keep fighting.
Right then, Mephistopheles—who should've been petrified with the dragon—appeared at Oedipus's side, looking at Ritsuka. "Master, long time no see. I'm here to settle our bet."
"So, you saw it?" Ritsuka asked.
"Thanks to you, yeah." The demon's form began to fade, leaving his final words: "And damn, it was so dazzling it made me jealous…"