An eerie silence lingered between the magnificent castle's halls.
One could almost hear a pin drop.
Upon seeing the innocent, adorable blue-haired young girl in front of him and realizing her true identity, the Lord of the Astromancy had already tensed up. His expression changed constantly, his pupils hidden beneath his glasses filled with shock beyond belief.
As the Lord of the Astromancy, a supreme authority of the Clock Tower, the magecraft he wielded—Celestial Magecraft—could interpret the fate of the world and predict the future by observing the stars. When he participated in the Holy Grail War and summoned Solomon, he had already researched his final opponent in advance.
Caster...
Able to stand toe-to-toe with the King of Heroes, he was one of the greatest threats in this Holy Grail War. Before now, he had analyzed even Caster's abilities, Noble Phantasms, and potential weaknesses, trying to anticipate his opponent's strategies.
Yet no matter what, he could never have imagined the magical sight before him now.
Tiamat...
Why would the Mother of Creation appear in the Holy Grail War?!
And just now, what did Caster call her...?
Mother...?
Was this being truly summoned by Caster?
As this unprecedented magical speculation flashed through his mind, Marisbury's head dipped slightly.
"Tiamat..."
On the other side, Solomon watched as the cute loli descended the stairs toward Irisviel. After a brief observation, he exhaled in relief.
"No... you are not truly her, but merely a single strand of her divinity, fundamentally different from her actual existence. If you were the real Tiamat... the law of the Sea of Life's Return would have already come to pass in this world."
"But even so, she's still a Beast. Caster, do you realize your actions could distort all of humanity?"
Solomon soon turned his gaze to Izaya, his tone grave.
"To have a Beast's clone join the Holy Grail War is to threaten the foundation of human reason. If a singularity forms, the Counter Force will almost certainly summon Grand Servants to attack."
"At that point, you'll be facing not only us in the Grail War, but far more enemies."
"If it were me, I'd send Tiamat out of this world right now—rather than leaving her as a latent threat—"
Boom!
A massive, dark resentment burst toward Solomon like a storm, transforming into a destructive blast of light right before him.
"He may be a Caster, but he's got no looks to speak of—a truly vulgar man..."
A mocking smile appeared on the face of the King of Magecraft. Raising his right hand, his aura condensed before him, neutralizing the cannon of light and devouring magic.
"Drop the condescending attitude, Solomon."
Izaya gazed calmly at the white-haired, brown-skinned man before him. "If anything needs to be said, it's that the one who should be leaving is you."
A singularity is, in essence, an "irreparable historical paradox." Any event that shakes history can become a singularity. Once it forms, Gaia and Alaya, the two main Counter Forces, quietly "correct" it without human awareness. If correction fails, the Counter Force is very likely to send out Grand Heroic Spirits.
But...
It wasn't that they hadn't seen the Grands before.
Back in the Tunguska era, there were four Grands present at once—so what about now, when history is unaffected? Would the Counter Force send more Grands again? Four last time—what now? Seven?
Could the Counter Force allow all Seven Grands to be mobilized?
"It seems you're not interested in my advice... and if you really were, you wouldn't let go of 'Tiamat' anyway."
Solomon sighed slowly. "I'm not sure exactly where you got Tiamat's doppelganger from—"
Raising his gaze, his golden eyes surged with near-unending murderous intent.
"Caster... you really must die!"
There was no doubt: the Caster before him—Izaya Sajyou—was an "anomaly," the greatest obstacle to his future plans.
His original plan was to establish seven carefully chosen singularities, shaking the bedrock of human reason, and use the power of the "Ars Almadel Salomonis" to incinerate all human history, creating a deathless, eternal world.
But now—
Three thousand years of meticulous planning, and suddenly, a gaping hole had appeared.
A Beast...
Multiple Beasts had appeared in Fuyuki. That would inevitably provoke the strongest possible Counter Force reaction, focusing Gaia and Alaya's "human destruction" level countermeasures ahead of time.
Put simply, what Izaya had just done was like throwing a nuke at the world before the "future Solomon" could even launch the King Bomb.
And though the nuke hadn't detonated yet... it could at any moment.
Now, Solomon had to step out from "behind the scenes" to the "front of the stage."
No—he was being forced out.
This "anomaly" had to be eliminated before the Counter Force even became aware of it!
Tiamat Lily before him was troublesome, but ultimately just a faint wisp of divinity... If he could eliminate Caster as soon as possible, he could still secure Irisviel.
The situation was a little out of hand... but still within his expected range.
A major war was inevitable.
Solomon no longer hesitated, unleashing his true nature.
This was not a Noble Phantasm's release, but the full unleashing of his power as the King of Magecraft.
His rings shone with unparalleled magical brilliance.
Dozens of giant, demonic claws—formed of pure magic—tore through space, closing in on Izaya from all directions. At the same time, hundreds of high-density heat rays blocked every route of escape like a torrential downpour.
A concept called "Destruction" instantly filled the ground beneath their feet.
This was an almost inescapable dead end—any carelessness meant instant erasure.
But—
A vast, dark resentment spread in all directions, quietly devouring all magical energy, saturating even the grand hall of the castle. Cracks snaked across the ceiling.
The roof shattered inch by inch, until the entire castle collapsed.
Countless stones fell toward Tiamat and Irisviel.
The silver-haired beauty instinctively closed her eyes, but Tiamat, seemingly more composed, caused a jet of ink-black "divine radiance" to erupt at her feet!
"Ah—!"
As the song rang out, the power of the Sea of Life manifested an unbreakable defense.
The moment the rocks touched the black sea, they bounced away with immense force.
When Irisviel opened her eyes, her ruby gaze was filled with shock and disbelief as she stared at the blue-haired girl beside her.
Is... this really still the Holy Grail War?
Marisbury, who stood nearby, was even more stunned.
Though he tried to keep his usual indifferent smile, he had already started backing away. He was here to participate in the Grail War, not to seek death.
Given the current situation—a girl tied to the Root, and Tiamat, even in a childlike form—
they far surpassed ordinary Servants.
And with Izaya, who could fight the King of Heroes head-on... What was the point?
This Grail War was as good as theirs.
"Don't be nervous, don't be afraid, Marisbury."
As if seeing through Marisbury's retreat, Solomon's majestic voice rang out quietly.
He stood atop the castle ruins, gazing forward indifferently like a high god.
"With me here, things will not get out of hand."
Tiamat's appearance was certainly unexpected, and Caster's combat strength was beyond imagination. But he was the King of Magecraft, the Grand Caster. Even if he only wielded his "holster," he feared neither mere Servants nor divine fragments.
As for the Princess of the Root... She was tricky, but her aim clearly wasn't here.
In the end, eliminating Caster alone would produce more good than harm for even the Princess of the Root...
After all, removing such a troublesome Servant here would vastly increase the chances of obtaining the Grail later on.
With that in mind, Solomon slowly raised his right hand.
"—O heroes of Valhalla, heed my call!"
"—At this very moment, in the name of the King of Magecraft, Solomon, I permit you to manifest!"
Three rings, shining brilliantly!
As his words fell, three summoning circles of different colors instantly expanded around Izaya.
EX-class summoning magic had appeared.
Three mounted heroes who hadn't appeared in this Grail War were summoned by Solomon simultaneously.
The first to appear was a female knight clad in silver and blue armor, wielding a holy sword that could not be directly observed. With cold resolve, she descended quietly onto the ruins.
Next, from a swirling vortex of dark-purple ominous magic, a berserk knight wreathed in a black ghostly aura let out a ground-shaking roar, aiming his "indestructible Lake's Light"—a magical sword—at the black-haired man before him.
Finally, the King Pharaoh who ruled both Sun and Earth descended in a sunship of gold and splendor, breaking through the clouds!
The god-like Pharaoh sat upright at the ship's prow, gazing down with regal eyes upon the "insolent" one below.
"I see."
The Pharaoh's voice boomed with majesty. "This is not a normal Holy Grail summoning, but a direct call from 'King' to 'King'—the highest class of summoning magic..."
He understood everything the moment he arrived.
This summoning was not part of the usual Grail War process; the King of Magecraft had used unknown methods.
Seated on the ground, Solomon looked on with satisfaction, a gentle smile on his face.
"The situation is urgent, so I won't explain in detail... I'll need your cooperation."
As he spoke, the three Command Spells on the back of his hand vanished.
"Sorry... I really don't want to fight so many people."
Altria gripped her holy sword, gazing down at the man. She didn't want to do this, but the command spells' orders were absolute.
The light of the Sword of Victory rose like a sun in the night.
Lancelot let out an even more ferocious roar. Though he instinctively wanted to kill the Saber beside him, the command spell's power bound his body.
Izaya glanced around and smiled slightly.
"Didn't expect you to hide such a move... It's a pity there's only one more left, or we could play a round of mahjong."
Ozymandias, the Sun King, snorted coldly in disdain.
With supreme divinity, pride, and kingship, he would never allow himself to be used as a mere pawn.
…If a Master's command spell undermined the Pharaoh's dignity, he could not act at full power.
But...
His gaze shifted from Solomon to the black-haired youth surrounded by four Servants.
He felt an indescribable "interest" in the man before him.
A mortal could force the King of Magecraft to this extent, even causing the King to summon multiple Servants...
Ozymandias's golden eyes narrowed slightly, filled with playfulness and curiosity.
"Haha..."
He suddenly burst out laughing—a kingly, confident laugh.
"Hah! So be it. Since the King of Magecraft has set the stage himself, how could I, not applaud this magnificent show?"
He slowly rose from his throne on the sunship, pointing at Izaya.
"Hear me, King of Magecraft... This king will not follow your orders. This king is simply curious about this man."
"Show the king, with your own eyes! Whether this 'treasure' will bloom dazzlingly enough to astonish the capital of jewels, or whether it will burn out into nothing but a handful of worthless ash under the sun's light!"
All four Servants moved at once.
This was an almost unsolvable situation.
The Sun King's judgment, the Knight King's holy sword, the Berserker's demonic blade, and the torrent of the King of Magecraft's overwhelming power all surged toward Izaya in an instant.
Not far away, Manaka's usually empty eyes displayed a rare fluctuation of emotion.
She was ready to intervene at any time.
When facing Izaya, Manaka's "omniscience" had a blind spot: she couldn't see the future.
This "unknown" was intriguing—but... he could not be allowed to die.
Her slender, snow-white hand slowly rose, the light of the Root gathering at her fingertips.
But in that moment, Izaya—at the center of the almost mythic formation—completely abandoned resistance.
He dispelled the wall of resentment he had used against Solomon.
Facing legends from all sides, he closed his eyes and slowly raised his right hand.
"Irisviel—"
Izaya suddenly called out softly.
A short distance away, Irisviel seemed to realize something; the three crimson command spells on the back of her hand shone ominously.
She nodded slightly and whispered,
"In the name of the command spell—Caster, do your utmost to defeat your foes—"
The command spell instantly vanished, releasing a torrent of mana into Izaya.
While a single command spell wasn't enough to fully restore his mana, it was enough to unleash his Noble Phantasm.
As the Quad-Servants' attack was about to land—
Snap!
No incantation.
He simply snapped his fingers.
The moment his fingers snapped, time and space seemed to freeze completely.
Boom!!
Suddenly, a dark world unfolded, with Izaya at its center!
The laws of the real world were forcibly overwritten, replaced by a heavy, leaden sky.
Beneath his feet was no longer castle rubble, but an endless, scorched earth.
The air was permeated by the breath of death.
Solomon narrowed his eyes and muttered,
"A fundamental barrier... even in your home field, Caster?"
Unexpectedly, Caster's mental world was so bleak, so devoid of life.
But...
No matter how strong, unless a Master could constantly provide sufficient mana, failure was inevitable when besieged by multiple Servants.
With this thought, Solomon glanced just behind Izaya.
But all he saw was the figure of a silver-haired beauty.
Strange... where was she?
Just a moment ago, Tiamat Lily had been by Irisviel's side, but after entering this inner barrier, the blue-haired loli had vanished.
No matter. It didn't matter now.
The only thing that mattered was the "anomaly" before him, who was impacting the timeline and even preventing him from seeing the future.
Just kill him...
That was the goal of this journey.
Decisive action.
"Marisbury... give me all your command spell magic."
Solomon's voice echoed with authority.
Near the edge of the barrier, Marisbury nodded immediately upon hearing this.
Without hesitation, he unleashed all three command spells at once.
A sea of overwhelming magical energy poured into Solomon's body.
On the other side, Irisviel sensed Solomon's forceful magic enveloping the entire barrier, and looked nervously at the youth facing four Heroic Spirits alone.
"It's all right, Miss Irisviel."
Just then, a soft, pure voice sounded beside her.
Manaka had quietly come to her side, gazing calmly at her with deep blue eyes.
"Even if it's a Lesser Grail, with multiple Servants fighting, it's not enough to provide my brother with the mana he needs."
"So... give me his contract."
"As long as I'm here... I'll provide him with infinite magic."
Irisviel was momentarily stunned, unconsciously looking down at the two remaining command spells on the back of her hand, unable to help but hesitate.
Though she had more magic than a typical magus, against the King of Magecraft and multiple Heroic Spirits... her supply truly wasn't enough to let Caster unleash his power to the fullest.
But if she really handed over the contract...
After a brief hesitation, when Irisviel lifted her gaze, there was a greater resolve in her vibrant red eyes.
"All right, Miss Manaka."
Manaka couldn't help but smile faintly.
"Then let's begin the contract exchange—"
But just as she finished speaking, a mesmerizing, moving voice—quietly echoed across the scorched earth.
"Oh? Who's making such a ruckus in my domain? Lord Solomon, is it you?"
The voice chuckled softly, tinged with laziness and playfulness.
"Saber, Caster, Rider, Berserker... seems almost all the roles of this Holy Grail War are gathered here."
The instant that voice sounded, the sweet smile on Manaka's face froze.
But more intense than her reaction was the behavior of the King of Magecraft at the center of the battlefield, who acted as if he'd seen it all.
When he heard that voice, he felt a presence eerily similar to his own, yet completely different.
First there was the Princess of the Root, who wielded the principle of "Regression."
Then Tiamat Lily.
And now this.
Realizing the possibility, the calm "kingliness" faded from Solomon's face, replaced by shock and disbelief, as if he'd seen a living ghost.
He slowly turned around, stiffly, as if every movement cost him dearly.
No one knew when it had started, but a graceful figure now stood there.
It was a beautiful woman with long, cherry blossom-pink hair, wearing a sumptuous white dress embroidered with intricate patterns.
Her skirt swayed in the night breeze; she floated barefoot above the scorched earth, divine as a goddess.
Behind her, nine massive tails fanned out gracefully—half pitch black, half radiating blinding white light.
Each tail housed its own unique ecosystem, emanating terrifying pressure.
Just by standing there, the unique "beast-like" aura she exuded resonated with the land itself.
Solomon's face lost all composure, as if realizing something dire, and his voice was low.
"The Beast of Cherishment...?"
Even aside from Tiamat Lily and counting Manaka Sajyou, there were already two Beasts in this world.
Had this man really been chased by two Beasts?!
Realizing this, the King of Magecraft suddenly felt a profoundly absurd emotion well up within him.
"Ah—"
But before he could gather himself, a beautiful song rang out from above the empty land.
Solomon looked up unconsciously, a trace of hesitation flickering in his already-dazed golden eyes.
That sound just now...
What was it?